Return of the Parents
by AutumnBreeze12
Summary: No one ever really thought that Lily and James Potter would come back. But they never considered that the rules don't seem to apply to the Potter family...
1. Chapter 1

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 1

* * *

**

It was a cloudy night outside. The moon, hidden, peaked out every once in a while, only to be covered a few seconds later. A mist was forming around ruins of a house, but no one saw this happening. No one saw this happening because of the fact that no one wanted to go down that road. People who tried to walk down it would get chills and decide to go back. A rumor had started a while back that this place was haunted, but few believed this until they went down it themselves.

The people of Godric's Hollow loved to tell the story of this street. When things to talk about got few, there was always this one to tell. It had been told so many times, in fact, that no one knew the real story anymore. The tale says that once a family lived here. The family had a mother, a father and a one-year-old son. They were a happy family until a dark night. On this dark night, a man went to their house and murdered them. The father went first, then the mother. When the man got to the baby, however, something had happened. The man, upon trying to kill something as innocent as a baby, was killed himself, leaving the baby an orphan, but not before blowing up the whole entire house. It was said that the baby lived through all of this, and that the spirits of the parents still were on the streets, looking for their baby boy.

Of course, this was just one of the many versions of the story. But one thing was for sure, and that was nobody liked to go down that road.

So, when the mist surrounded this house, and only this house, no one was there to witness this weird fact. The mist slowly got denser and denser until, with a sudden crack of lightning overhead, two people slowly rose out of the ruins of the house. Anyone who had heard the story of what had happened here by the towns people would have sworn that it was the mother and the father, and they wouldn't know how right they were.

* * *

James was aching all over. He tried to open his eyes, but they were to heavy for him. He tried to move, but his body didn't seem to want to. He groaned a little at the pain that he was feeling. Then he remembered. Voldemort. He had attacked them! James, ignoring his protesting limbs, jumped up. He nearly collapsed again, and when he moved it felt as though he was moving thousand pound weights, but James did his best to ignore the feelings.

"Lily! Lily, where are you?" James called desperately. He began to look around feverishly for any sign of his wife among the ruins of his house. There was a groan to one side of him and James looked up.

"Lily! Lily, are you alright?" asked James as he ran to his wife. Well, he tried to run anyways. He was still aching. He helped her up the best he could and she looked around.

"What happened? Why is the house destroyed? Harry! Where's Harry?!" she said. She began looking around even more desperately than James. James began to help her search. After about an hour of their searching and not finding a thing they gave up. Lily cried as hard as she could on a shocked James' shoulder.

"I think that we need to visit Sirius," said James. "He'll know what to do. Peter! That lying, traitorous—" started James, but Lily cut him off.

"Let's go to Sirius and figure out what happened before we jump to conclusions," said Lily quickly. They began to walk away from their ruined house, only to fall down again from pain and exhaustion.

"Or maybe we can rest first," suggested James as they both struggled to get up again. "I mean, it is about an hour walk from here to Sirius's house,"

"I don't care! Our child has just been killed! I want some answers and I want them now!" snarled Lily.

"We're in no condition to travel right now," said James. "We'll just collapse again after a little while. Look, we can't even get up right now!" he said. It was true, they were struggling to get up, but they couldn't. They were just to exhausted from looking around for Harry and they were sore too. He supposed that was from fighting Voldemort.

Soon, both he and Lily had fallen asleep in the ruins of their house.

* * *

Remus Lupin was walking down the street. He didn't know why he was doing this; it just seemed like the right thing to do. He noticed the lack of people on the street, but recognized the air surrounding it as creepy. He knew that muggles got scared at this kind of thing.

It was almost as if something was telling him that he had to come here. He didn't want to, but he knew that he couldn't avoid it forever. He had avoided it for many years now. All he wanted to do was pay his respects and look upon the house that he had once gone to almost every day to visit his friends. He was going the house where James and his wife, Lily, lived. Or had once lived.

He was walking down their street right now. Every part of him wanted to turn back, but his legs wouldn't listen to him. They just kept walking forward. He stopped when he came to the ruins. That's when he saw them. Lily and James' bodies. They were lying on top of the ruins as though someone had just put then there. Not only that, but there was the fact that they didn't look a year younger than when they were killed. At once, Remus was confused. Their bodies should be buried under the ruins, and they should have been rotted by then.

Not wanting to, but doing so anyways, he went closer to them. He glanced at James and saw his chest moving up and down. He did a double take. James couldn't be breathing! He moved cautiously towards James. After staring at him for a moment he poked him. Not the smartest move, but it was the only thing that he could think of.

James mumbled something incoherent and turned a little in his sleep. Remus poked him again, this time harder. James cracked one eye open and looked at him. He sat up and stared at Remus for a moment.

"Remus?" he asked, looking confused.

"Yeah," answered Remus. Every part of him was screaming that this couldn't be James, that he was dead. But a part of him, just a small part of him, was saying that this was James. That he had somehow come back.

"But why do you look so different?" asked James.

"First off, I have to check that you are really James," said Remus. James looked confused but got up from his sitting position. He changed from James into Prongs and back again. No one, not _anybody,_ can exactly copy someone else's animagus form. Remus blinked for a moment, then launched himself at James and enveloped him in a hug. That just confused James more.

"Remus, what are you doing?" said James unsurely. "Wait a moment, how do I know you're Remus? You look to old to be Remus,"

"It's been fourteen years, James. You've been dead for fourteen years," Remus still couldn't believe it. He was a bit suspicious at these people. His friends had been dead for many years now, and Remus had come to partially accept that fact, so he wasn't sure what to think right now.

"What are you talking about? I haven't been dead. I'm perfectly alive, thank you very much. Are you feeling okay?"

"No James, you've been dead. You came back! Sirius will be so happy! And we need to tell Dumbledore. My goodness, we never thought that you would come back! Not me, not Sirius, or Dumbledore or Harry… Harry! Harry will be so happy too!" Remus babbled. Remus tried to wrap his mind around all the possibilities that Lily and James being back presented… if this was Lily and James, that is.

"You know where Harry is?" said James quickly. "Hey, Lily, wake up!" James called to his wife. Lily stirred and sat up.

"What? What's going on? Who are you?" Lily said to Remus.

"It's Remus, Lily. He's said that we've been dead," said James, frowning.

"But, if we've been dead then how are we alive now?" asked Lily.

"I don't know. We should get to Dumbledore," said Remus. "He'll know what to do,"

"He knows where Harry is too," said James to his wife upon seeing her distrustful face. She instantly brightened.

"You know where Harry is? He didn't die? Thank goodness," said Lily.

"Yes, I know where he is, but it's been fourteen years. He's fifteen years old now. He isn't a baby anymore," said Remus.

"Fifteen? But we're only twenty!" said Lily. "How will we take care of a fifteen year old?"

"He'll be happy to see you. Now, let's get to Dumbledore," said Remus as he stood up. James and Lily stood up too. "Can you apparate?" asked Remus.

"I don't think so, we don't have our wands," said Lily. "Unless you want to look around here for them?"

"I think that we took them out of the house the night that you died," said Remus. "Why don't we just walk? My house is a couple of hours away though,"

"We'll walk," said James quickly. "I just want to see my son,"

"Let's go then,"

* * *

Lily followed Remus and James through a small forest. No matter how much her legs ached, she still went on. She supposed the sleeping had helped her a bit in being able to move. She should be able to go on for a little while.

She followed who she hoped was Remus. She just couldn't grasp the fact that they had been dead and their son was now fifteen years old. They had been walking for a while now and she was wondering when they would get there when they stopped at an old house that looked about to fall down. Remus motioned then to follow him and they walked inside.

"This is my house right now. I would live with Sirius, but I decided not to at the moment. They have enough going on there as it is without me causing them trouble. We have a lot to catch up on," said Remus. "We'll floo to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, okay?"

"Yeah," said Lily quickly. Remus was right, they did have a lot to catch up on. Imagine them being gone for fourteen years! She wondered how they had gotten back of they were dead. She hoped that Dumbledore had some answers, but she knew that the old man couldn't answer everything. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see Remus disappear in the fire.

"Your turn," said James. Lily looked up in surprise.

"Oh, right," she said. She took a pinch of floo powder and yelled, "Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts!"

Lily spun around in the fireplace until she came to a stop in Dumbledore's office. She stepped out of the way so James wouldn't land on her and looked around. It was pretty much the same since the last time she had been there, except for a few small changes. She saw a sword in a case that hadn't been there last time.

As James came out of the fireplace and began his own examination of the office, Lily saw Remus talking to Dumbledore who was sitting behind his desk. Lily saw with amazement that the old headmaster was looking surprised. James whispered behind her, "I never thought that I would see him surprised,"

Dumbledore turned to them and said, "So, if Remus' story is true, then you are Lily and James Potter?" Lily nodded while James began to whine about Dumbledore saying Lily's name before his own.

"Well then, welcome back, I suppose. I hope you don't mind that I ask you a few questions. I can't, after all, trust you immediately,"

When Lily and James nodded Dumbledore began to ask them questions. He asked things like what their names was, how they had met, what their birth dates were, things about James' animagus form, and about Lily's sister and home life.

"Okay then. Last question. What happened on the night that Voldemort came and attacked you?"

James answered, "What I remember was that I was with Harry when I heard a bang outside. I knew instantly that it was Voldemort because he likes to make dramatic entrances. I yelled at Lily to take Harry and run and that I would hold him off. I remember him coming in and us dueling for a little bit. Then I remember him yelling _'AVADA KEDAVRA' _and a whole ton of green light. That's all,"

"What I remember is that James yelled at me to take Harry and go, and I did. But when I tried to get out of the house I couldn't because all of the doors were locked. I remember him coming in and telling me to stand aside and I wouldn't have to get hurt if I just let him kill Harry. I wouldn't stand aside, so I guess he killed me," said Lily.

"Then you really are James and Lily," said Dumbledore. "I think that we should call the Order and tell them what's happened,"

"Yeah, Sirius will be really happy," said Remus. "We should tell Harry soon too."

"I think that we should wait a little to tell Harry. We should tell the Order first and let James and Lily get over the shocking changes that their friends has gone through and get accustomed to things."

"I want to see Harry!" protested Lily.

"Anyway, you won't be able to keep it from him long. He'll find out," said Remus. "It seems like there isn't anything that he doesn't know, other than school work that is."

"I'll call the Order," said Dumbledore, completely ignoring them. He went into a different room for a moment and then came back out saying, "They're all on their way. I suggest that you two stay in the shadows until I say so."

Lily moved back into the corner with James and waited. After a bit, people began to come in. Lily watched with amazement at some of the people. They all looked so different! James gave a sharp intake of breath when Sirius came in. When all of the Order members came in, Dumbledore began to speak.

"Tonight something amazing has happened," he said. An outbreak of noise came at this statement.

"Finally, some good news!" said Sirius while leaning forward.

"Ah, yes. Sirius, this will come as a shock to you while at the same time be one of the most happiest moments of your life," said Dumbledore. "I'll tell you what happened. Remus was visiting Godric's Hollow tonight and went to the Potter's house—"

"How is that good news?" interrupted Sirius.

"Shut up, he hasn't even gotten to the good part yet," snapped Remus.

"Remus was visiting the Potter's house when he saw that James and Lily's bodies were laying on top of the ruins. It turns out that they somehow came back to life," said Dumledore. The whole table was silent for a moment.

"You're joking, right?" snapped Snape.

"No. In fact, they're here right now," said Dumbledore. "You can come out now," he called to them. Lily and James moved out into the light and the Order gasped.

"How do you know that they aren't Death Eaters in disguise?" asked an Order member.

"I questioned them. They are, indeed, Lily and James Potter,"

"Count on Potter to break the rules of death," snarled Snape.

Sirius wasted no time in jumping up and hugging them. After a few moments when all the order members were done greeting them, Sirius couldn't seem to take it anymore and had to leave to collect himself and gather his thoughts.

"Anyways, we should get them to Headquarters. I think that Harry isn't there yet, so you'll have to wait to see him," said Dumbledore. Lily and James nodded and allowed themselves to be taken away from the office and to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

When they got to their destination they went to a spare bedroom and, because of all of the aches and pains, added with the walking they had done, they needed rest. They had no trouble in falling asleep instantly. Or Lily did. Because James had been told that this was Sirius' house, and realized something. If this was Sirius' house why wasn't Harry with his Godfather? After a while of thinking about this, James finally succumbed to the need to sleep.

* * *

Sirius was happy. It was probably the most happiest that he had ever been in his life. He was bouncing off the walls. He couldn't sleep. He kept getting up and pacing. He couldn't believe it! James and Lily were alive! After a while another thought came along that completely diminished his mood. They were most likely going to blame him about suggesting Peter. He knew that he would have to ask for their forgiveness, and he knew that they probably wouldn't give it. He wouldn't, why would he forgive someone who made him die and miss out on the first fourteen years of his son's life? He sighed deeply. He knew he would have trouble with this, and he would have to tell him that Harry hadn't lived with him. He would have to tell him that he had gone to Azkaban.

The worst part is that he wasn't even sure if it was Lily and James. It didn't matter that Dumbledore had questioned them. What if it was imposters? Sirius wasn't sure if he could handle the pain of losing them a second time.

* * *

Severus Snape was royally pissed. He was having the worst day in the history of his life. His most hated enemy just came back to life and was going to give him the most horrible time when he figures out how he treated his son. Not only that, but Lily had to come back as well. He never really minded Lily, but he had never liked her. Trust Potter to break the rules once again.

Though, how _could _Potter have broken the laws of death?

* * *

The next morning James woke up with the resolution to ask Sirius why Harry wasn't here. Lily stirred next to him. She sat up and smiled at him. "Lily, I've been wondering—" started James.

"What do you want?" asked Lily instantly.

"No, I don't want anything! I've been wondering why Harry isn't here. This is Sirius' house and Sirius lives here so it only makes sense that Harry would be here too," said James. Lily thought over this for a moment. She frowned.

"You know, you're right. For once," she said. James pretended to be hurt.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "My dear Lily flower, have I ever been wrong?"

"Believe me, I can name many times when you were wrong," she said. James smiled at her. Sirius walked in at that moment and jumped onto their bed.

"Hello," he said brightly.

"Hello," said James. He looked at Sirius, and then blurted out the question that had been bugging him. "Why isn't Harry here?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius.

"I mean, if you live here then shouldn't he be here with you?"

"Erm, I… didn't… raise him," said Sirius.

"What? But you're his Godfather!" snarled James.

"Wait, let me explain. It was because of my idiocy that I wasn't able to raise him. I'll start from the beginning," said Sirius. "On the night you died, something didn't feel right. Like something bad was going to happen. I decided to check up on Peter and when I got to his house I found that he wasn't there. I knew at that instant that Peter was the traitor. I knew that I had made a mistake. I went to your house right away, only to find it in ruins. I saw you two dead, and Harry was there, crying. I was going take him, but I couldn't. Hagrid was there saying that Dumbledore said that he had to take Harry somewhere else. I didn't argue much; I wanted to get back at Peter. I went and tracked him down. I found him on a muggle street. I was about to kill him when Peter, with his wand behind his back, shouted to the whole street that I had killed you and then he blew up the whole street, including twelve muggles, and changed into a rat. He went down to the sewer and the ministry came and arrested me. I wasn't given a trial, I couldn't tell them that we switched secret keepers," said Sirius.

"Don't tell me," said James, "that you were sent to… Azkaban?"

"Well, I had a life sentence. Then, around two or three years ago, I saw Peter on the front page of a newspaper in his rat form. I knew it was him because he cut of his finger when he supposedly died so that they could find something of him, and this rat didn't have a finger. I could recognize him because I had seen him so much in that form. I was still sane at that time, so I broke out of Azkaban," said Sirius.

"You broke out of Azkaban?" breathed Lily.

"Yeah. First person to ever do so. I went into my dog form and slipped through the bars. The Dementors couldn't tell because they don't feel animal emotions very well," said Sirius.

"Wow. So, let me do a wild guess here, you're still an escaped convict?" said James.

"How did you guess?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

"So you weren't able to take care of Harry? Who did then?" asked Lily.

"We should get downstairs. I'm sure a lot of people want to see you," said Sirius quickly.

"Sirius, who took care of Harry?" asked Lily again. Sirius sighed.

"I think that Harry should tell you that," he answered. "In fact, I think that he should be arriving today. He'll be really pleased to see you, you know," said Sirius. James and Lily looked at each other wearily. Who had taken care of Harry? The way Sirius said it, it sounded like a death sentence. Unless…

"Sirius," said Lily sharply, "don't tell me that Harry was taken care of by the Dursleys,"

Sirius winced and said slowly, "Fine then, I won't tell you that," Lily jumped up and James looked livid. He had met Lily's sister and husband and knew how horrible they were. If Harry had lived with them, well… James didn't even want to think about it. "Come on, we should go down now," said Sirius. James followed Sirius unhappily.

As the walked down Sirius began chatting happily. They entered the kitchen and saw that everyone looked unsurprised to see Lily and James there. They had obviously been told that they were there. A few people jumped up and greeted them.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I'm Hermione Granger. I'm one of Harry's friends," said a girl with bushy hair. She shook their hands eagerly. Her eyes were slightly wide, as if she couldn't believe that she was meeting the dead parents of her friend.

"Hello, Hermione. Please don't call me Mrs. Potter, it makes me feel old. Just call me Lily," said Lily as she gave off a smile she hoped would relieve the girl of her amazement.

"Yeah. Same here. Except don't call me Lily, call me James," said James.

"I'm Ron Weasley," said a tall man with flaming red hair. "I'm Harry's best friend," he said with pride in his voice.

After they had all been introduced, they sat down to eat. Lily was in a deep conversation with Molly. They were talking about cooking. Fred and George were snickering about this fact. Remus and Hermione were talking about O.W.L.s. James listened for a few moments, before getting bored. He decided to ask a random question.

"Does Harry play Quidditch?" he asked the table at large. Ron snorted.

"Of course he does. He's the best in our year!" said Ron. James beamed at this fact.

"He got onto the Gryffindor house team in his first year," said Hermione.

"I thought that you weren't allowed to have brooms in your first year," said James, confusion evident in his voice and on his face.

"Just goes to show you how good he is then," said Sirius. "He bloody brilliant at it if you ask me. He's a seeker," he said, answering James' unasked question.

"When is he coming here?" asked Lily.

"We should be getting him tonight," answered Molly.

"I can't wait to meet him," said Lily.

"Believe me, you _want _to meet him," said Molly. "He's only the best boy around!"

"What about us?" asked the twins innocently.

"What about you?" asked Ron.

"Aren't we the best little boys around?" asked Fred.

"Yeah, we're the most innocent, none rule breaking little itty bitty children around here," added George.

Everyone at the table laughed and Molly said, "You've gotten more detentions then Harry, Ron, and Hermione put together!"

"And that really must be saying something," said Fred.

"I don't get detentions that much!" said Hermione, looking scandalized.

"Well, she couldn't say that they've broken more rules than you because that would be lying," said Sirius. Hermione scowled.

"It's not my fault," she said. "We can't help it!"

"Anyway, he's a great boy," said Molly.

"Yeah, he's nice," put in Remus.

"And interesting" added the twins.

"And handsome in his own way," added Hermione. She glanced up from her breakfast to find everyone staring at her. "What? I meant that in a friendly way! I have no interest in him!"

"Yeah, but Ginny on the other hand…" said Fred.

"I got over my crush on him!" snarled Ginny.

"You say that but…" said George, while the whole table laughed.

"To sum it up, he's a good person," said Remus.

They finished up breakfast and everyone drifted their own way. Lily was starting to panic. "What if he doesn't like me? What if he hates me? What if he doesn't think that we're who we are?" she asked while pacing.

"Calm down Lily, he doesn't even arrive for a couple more hours," stated James.

"Lily, there isn't anyway that he couldn't like you," said Sirius who was obviously exasperated with the way his friend was acting.

"But what if he's too shy and doesn't want to meet us?" asked Lily.

"Believe me, he's braver than you would ever think," said Sirius.

"What do you mean?" asked James. "You make it sound like he's faced a dragon or something,"

"Erm…"

"HE'S FACED A DRAGON?" shrieked Lily.

"I think that I'll leave now before I mess everything up," muttered Sirius as he turned to go. As he left, Lily and James looked at each other uneasily. What had happened to their boy in the years they were absent?

* * *

A/N: This is the revised version of chapter one. I made a couple of changes, and I changed the title from **_Returning of the Parents _**to **_Return of the Parents. _**The other chapters are going to be revised soon too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hello again! Thanks to all of the reviews, you made me so happy! Anyway, sorry for all of the spelling mistakes in the last chapter, I didn't go and reread it before I posted it, so there are some mistakes. I'll fix them sometime if I get the time. Which means that I'll try to fix them, but won't for a while because I barely ever have time to do anything, let alone write. Now, on with the story!

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12 **

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Lily couldn't help it. She knew that she shouldn't be worrying so much about how Harry will react, but she really couldn't help it. This was her son and she hasn't even met him! That hadn't been her fault, that had been Voldemort's fault. She still couldn't believe that he was fifteen years old; it seemed like yesterday that she had held him in her arms singing lullabies. She kept pacing, and she knew that James was getting annoyed with her restlessness, but she couldn't sit down.

"Calm down," said James for what must have been the hundredth time. He was getting annoyed with her, you could tell by the tone of his voice.

"I can't. This is our boy! I don't see how you can just sit around and wait like it's nothing! What if he doesn't like us? What if he never trusts us? What if-," started Lily but James interrupted her.

"There is a lot of what ifs, but if you don't calm down then some of those questions may be answers like 'he won't trust us' or 'he doesn't like us'. He'll never be able to take to you if you're so nervous like this," said James smoothly. Lily stared at him for a moment.

"When did you get so smart?" asked Lily.

"What are you talking about? I've been very smart, thank you so much for noticing. I just don't like to draw attention to that fact," James replied. They both sat in silence for a few more seconds (or in Lily's case, paced in silence) before Lily spoke again.

"I'm just worried about what he'll think of me," said Lily. "I mean, what if he blames us for dieing and leaving him at the Dursleys?"

"I don't have all the answers, Lily. But by the way that Sirius and the others were talking about him you would think that he was God. I don't think that he's that bad," answered James. Lily still wasn't convinced. What would happen if Harry did blame them for leaving him? She knew by the way everyone talked about him that that wasn't what would happen, but what if it did happen? She couldn't help but worry.

She sat down next to James. She began wondering what Harry would be like. Would he be nice or mean? Handsome or ugly? Sirius said that Harry looked like James with Lily's eyes, but how did they know that Sirius wasn't lying? It was hard to think of their baby fifteen years old. Lily couldn't quite get over the fact that they had been dead yet. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Harry wasn't having a good day. His relatives, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, kept him on chores all day. So far he had cut the lawn, weeded the garden, cleaned the kitchen floors, made both breakfast and lunch, washed Uncle Vernon's car, and did some of Dudley's laundry, but he got out of that because of the fact that he was so disgusted by the smell that he ended up puking. He didn't see how the day could possibly get any worse, until he found out that Dudley was going to have over some friends, or more like Dudley was going to have over his gang. They might be able to fool Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, but everyone else knows that they were beating people up and stealing things.

Not only was Dudley going to have his friends over, but also because Aunt Petunia thought them to be angels, she was going out with Uncle Vernon to some meeting while leaving Dudley and his friends home alone. Or alone with Harry. Harry knew that this fact would cause trouble by the way Dudley smirked at Harry when Uncle Vernon told them this. Harry was dreading the evening when he would be alone, with no help, with Dudley and his 'friends'.

It seemed that the evening seemed to want to come though, because after what seemed like minutes Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were saying bye to Dudley and his friends. As they were walking out of the door Harry took this as his warning to leave to go to his room and look the door behind him. It really was too bad that the door didn't have a lock though, except for the ones on the outside.

Harry went up to his room as quickly as he could when they left. Since he didn't have a lock on his door, he dragged his trunk in front of it to hold off Dudley when he decided to come to beat him up. After a while Harry was beginning to grow suspicious of the lack of screaming and pounding on his door. He thought that they would have attacked him by now. Harry soon began to fall asleep.

* * *

Remus Lupin was not a happy man at the moment. Not at all. He was going to retrieve Harry when he found his cousin and other people in their house planning on hurting Harry. But let's start at the beginning.

Remus, Moody, a girl named Tonks, and a whole ton of other order members were getting ready to pick up Harry. Lily and James were in the other room pacing out of nerves, because the time had come to bring Harry here. They were about to depart when they discovered that Harry wasn't alone in the house, and that Dudley and some of his friends were there. They had counted on Harry being alone and hadn't expected his cousin to still be there. In the end they had decided to go anyway.

When they got to the house they had gone cautiously inside and found that Dudley and his supposed 'friends' were planning on hurting Harry. Remus didn't want to think about some of the things that they were planning to do to him. So they ended up knocking out them all. After they had been sure that they were all unconscious they had headed upstairs. They were in front of Harry's door right now. And Remus wasn't happy with what he saw.

What he saw was a very battered door that had several locks on it. Not only that, but it had a flap on the bottom that something like a dog could get into. Remus supposed that was where Harry got his food from, but what really bothered him was that he, being a werewolf, could feel emotion better than anyone, and this door radiated misery.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and gave the door a small knock. After no response, he knocked a little louder and called through the door, "Harry, it's me, Remus, we've come to take you away from here,"

After waiting a few seconds he glanced at the members with a worried expression. They all just shrugged back. Remus was about to knock again but the door opened. Harry stood in the doorway, looking a little confused but happy to see them.

"What took you so long to get the door?" asked Moody gruffly. He was staring at Harry suspiciously.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Harry, completely ignoring Moody's question.

"We're here to take you to… a different place. I can't say here, it would be too dangerous. Why don't you pack up and we'll take you there," answered Remus. Harry looked around at all of the other members and Remus quickly introduced them. "We'll be downstairs," said Remus.

"Right," said Harry as he disappeared into his room. Remus and the others went downstairs. Remus began to write a letter to his Aunt and Uncle telling them where Harry was. He probably should have written it before he came here, but he hadn't thought of it. He waited about ten minutes for Harry to come down and when he heard him on the stairs he went to go help him.

Before long they were on their brooms headed towards number twelve, Grimuald place. Remus had decided to let Sirius tell Harry that his parents were back, and Lily and James had agreed that they could wait until they got back with Harry for Sirius to tell him. They had said that they could wait a little longer.

* * *

Harry looked around his room carefully. He was sharing it with Ron, as usual, and he couldn't wait for the meeting to be over, Sirius had told him that he had wanted to talk to him about something. The way he had said it was so unSirius-like that Harry knew it was something important. He had gotten hungry from the journey over too, so he really couldn't wait to taste Mrs. Weasley's meals either.

It was around midnight right now, and Ron said that the meeting should be over soon. They had tried to listen in on their conversations, but found that they couldn't because of a charm placed on the door by Mrs. Weasley. So all Harry had to do right now was pace. Which he did. Ron watched him walk around the room with bored eyes.

"You know, your pacing is getting a little annoying," he commented.

"It's just that Sirius said that he had something really important to tell me, and the way he said it you could tell that something was up," said Harry without pausing in his quest to burn a hole in the floor.

"Believe me, it _is_ big news," muttered Ron, more to himself than Harry.

"You know what it is?" asked Harry, whipping around to face Ron.

"Maybe," answered Ron. At the look on Harry's face he said, "It's for Sirius to tell you, not me,"

"Can't you give me a hint?" asked Harry.

"No, because then you'll figure it out somehow," said Ron. He began to flip through one of Harry's books, now ignoring all of the questions that Harry was firing at him. Sirius came in the room at that moment.

"Molly says to tell you that the meeting is over and that you are to come down to the kitchen right away," said Sirius. "Harry, I need to talk to you first," Harry watched as Ron walked out of the room and turned to Sirius.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" asked Harry.

"Now Harry, I know that you'll find this hard to believe, but somehow your parents came back to life," said Sirius. Harry stared for a moment.

"You are joking, right?" asked Harry. He looked at his godfather's face and knew it to be true, just by the way he was looking at him, but should he believe it? After all of this time without anyone to take care of him, would he have his parents back?

"I'm not joking Harry, I'm dead serious," he said. "Okay, bad pun, I know, but they are truly alive. They're downstairs right now," Harry stared at him for a few more minutes, before theedges ofhis vision began to go black and hefainted.

* * *

Everyone was silent in the kitchen. They were waiting for Sirius to come and tell them that it was okay to come and meet Harry now. James was jumping at every little noise, and was twitchy. Lily was worse next to him; she has holding his shoulder so hard that he knew it was going to be a bruise after this. Sirius walked in, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"You're going to have to wait a little longer to see him, I'm afraid," he told them.

"Why?" asked Lily breathlessly.

"Because when I told him, and finally convinced him, he fainted. He's out cold right now. I think that the shock was too much right now," said Sirius smiling.

"He's knocked out?" asked Fred.

"Yeah. And it doesn't look like he's about to wake up anytime soon. I think that meeting him will have to wait till morning," answered Sirius. Lily sighed next to him and loosened her grip on his arm a little.

"Are you sure that you can't wake him up?" asked James.

"I don't think that we should. It would be hard to wake him up anyway. He hit his head hard on the floor," said Sirius. "I wasn't in time to save him from bashing his head on the floor,"

"Meaning that you didn't even bother trying to get to him on time," said George.

"Hey! I tried to get to him… I just failed," said Sirius. The table snickered and began to eat more quickly, as though some tension had been removed. Actually, some tension had been removed with everyone waiting for Sirius. Lily sighed next to him again and began t eat faster. James knew what she was going to do; she was going to visit Harry while he was sleeping. He knew this because it was the same thing that he was going to do, whether everyone liked it or not. Unfortunately, Remus seemed to figure out their plan.

"You two will not go and see Harry while he's sleeping. What if he wakes up? It would give him quite the shock to find you two leaning over him," said Remus.

"Well, if Sirius had told him that we were alive, then he wouldn't be surprised, would he?" asked James.

"Yeah, but it might take a few seconds for him to remember, a few seconds in which he could pass out again," pointed out Remus.

"Yeah Jamesie, if he's anything like you then he'll take a few seconds to remember. I mean, remember that one time in first year you thought that you were still at our house and hugged Remus because you thought he was your mother?" said Sirius.

"I never did anything like that!" protested James while the whole table exploded into laughter.

"I remember it," said Remus. "I also remember a time when you thought Sirius was your mom, and kissed him on the nose,"

"I don't remember that either!" shouted James over the laughter.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I remember that too. Although I don't think that I look like his mother at all," said Sirius.

"Yeah, but he didn't have his glasses on, and we all know that Jamesie is pretty much blind without his glasses," said Remus.

"I'm not blind without my glasses, and stop calling me Jamesie!" roared James over the laughter.

"And don't get me started on Sirius," said Remus. "Believe me, he was worse than James! Once it took me all morning just to make him wake up! And then I had to drag him out of bed so he wouldn't be late for class," said Remus.

"Yeah, you could never get him up. I remember that we successfully got make up all over his face one night, and the next morning he didn't take a shower and went down to breakfast like that! It was hilarious!" said James. The table was howling with laughter, and Ron had been reduced to tears.

"I remember that too. I was down at breakfast when you guys came in and you guys were laughing, and Sirius couldn't figure out why," said Lily. "When you found out you were livid! I remember that you ended up chasing them all over the castle,"

"Yeah, you should have seen your face when you found out! I wish I had gotten a picture,now wewould be able to laugh at it even harder now," said James. They spent the night reliving memories, and when it was time to go to bed, James and Lily went eagerly, wanting it to be the next day so they could meet their son, Harry, at last.

* * *

His head was aching. And when he said aching, he meant that it was really aching. That was the first feeling he had when he woke up. He tries to recall why, and gradually it came to him. When he remembered the conversation that he had had with Sirius the night before, he shot up in his bed. Ron, who had been pulling his socks on, looked up at him.

"I'll tell them that you're awake," said Ron. "You can't just go down into the kitchen and meet them, it should be private,"

"Yeah, you do that," said Harry quickly. He began to change as quickly as he could. He couldn't wait to meet his parents, I mean, how could he not? He hadn't seen them since he was one year old! He watched as Ron went out of the room to go tell them that he was ready to see them. That he was ready to see his parents for the first time in fourteen years.

* * *

James entered the kitchen yawning. He had had a hard time sleeping last night, he had kept tossing and turning because he was worried about how Harry would react when he would see them. He was eating breakfast as calmly as he could when Lily came in. She was trying to look composed, and was failing miserably. It was obvious that she was nervous. He really didn't blame her, he was really nervous too.

He wasn't sure what they were waiting for, but he wasn't sure what to do. They sat at the table drinking coffee and eating breakfast. After a while people began to trickle in. It seemed like they were waiting forever for someone to tell them that they could go and see Harry now, but in reality it had only been about a half hour.

Then Ron came in. He looked at James and Lily and said, "He's upstairs right now. You can go and see him, he's waiting for you," James looked at Lily. She gave a small nod and got up. James got up too. The whole table had gone silent, and they all watched as James and Lily exited the kitchen.

They walked slowly up to his room. Then James gave a short knock, and entered.

(A/N: I thought about ending it here, but I'm not that evil!)

* * *

Harry looked up when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. The door seemed to slowly open and then two people walked in. His parents.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Lily launched herself at Harry and captured him in a hug. Whatever Harry had been expecting, it hadn't been this. After a few seconds, Harry awkwardly returned her hug. Lily started to sob into his shoulder, and James pulled her off of him.

"Now, Lily, don't suffocate him," he said softly.

"I can't help it!" wailed Lily.

Harry, who watched this with surprise, was somehow able to stammer out, "I don't mind," As soon as he said that Lily was hugging him again. She held onto him as though he was a lifeline. James, who was unable to contain himself, joined the hugging too. They stayed like that for a few minutes, only listening to Lily's sobbing.

They broke apart slowly, and when they did Lily said, "You have to tell us about everything that you've done so far in your life, and I want to know how my sister treated you, and I want to know everything about you,"

"Sirius told you that I lived with them?" asked Harry slowly. He was having a hard time not crying. As it was, there were a few silent tears going down James' face.

"Yeah he told us what had happened with Peter. We intend to get that sorted out as quickly as possible. But that's pretty much all he told us, because he said that you should tell us everything instead of him. He said that you would be better at it because you know the details. Oh, and he let slip that you fought a dragon. What were you doing fighting a dragon?" asked James.

"Well, that wasn't my fault. We have a lot to talk about," said Harry. "I'll tell you about that later though,"

"We want to know everything, including your favorite color to Hogwarts," said James.

"I'll tell you everything later. It'll take hours to go over now, and to tell you the truth, I'm hungry," said Harry, smiling. James and Lily smiled back, feeling very, very happy.

* * *

"They're back?" Voldemort hissed at Wormtail.

"Yes, my lord, that's what he says," said Wormtail in a trembling voice.

"But how?" asked Voldemort.

"They-they don't know yet, my lord," stammered Wormtail.

"They can't be back!" snarled Voldemort. All Wormtail did was whimper. In truth, he was happy that his friend was back, but he wasn't about to tell Voldemort that. That fact would probably get him killed.

"Of course it would be them who would come back, of course. But how? I need to know how!" said Voldemort, more to himself than Wormtail. "Wormtail, you will make it your top most priority to find out how this has happened!"

"Of course, my lord,"

"Not only that, but I want them captured and brought to me. I will not stand having James and Lily Potter alive!"

* * *

A/N: So how was it? Please review! I know that it was a short chapter, but don't complain, because it's really late at night right now and I need to get some sleep. Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Not now, not ever.

A/N: Hello. I thought that I should clear a few things up with you here. This story won't be a story where everyone dies, maybe a few smaller characters die, but that's all. Harry won't push away his family, but he might lie to them a few times. In the end, they'll find out that he lied to them though. Also, this takes place after his fourth year, but not after his fifth year, because I don't like the fact that Sirius dies. So this one has a few things the fifth one has, and maybe a few that the sixth one has, but I won't kill Sirius.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

James was really happy. He had finally met his son, and he knew just by looking at him that he was going to be an okay guy. The way the others went on about him you would think that he was snobbish, but when you meet him you can tell right away that he's a modest kind of guy.

James had to admit, Harry looked almost exactly like him. There were only a few differences, and those differences weren't major, it was just his eyes mostly that was different. He couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for the eyes and the scar, then they could probably pass off as twins. When he whispered this to Lily, however, she shuddered. James couldn't help it; he smiled when she did this. He knew that she was just joking around.

When they got to breakfast the table got quiet when they entered. It could really get annoying the way they were staring at you. That is, if you weren't a person who loved attention. He could tell that Harry wasn't one of these people; just by the way he went pink in the face and looked away from everyone. Lily wasn't a person who liked attention either, but she coped with it well. James was a person who liked to draw attention to himself, which he did.

"I know that you all just love my very handsome looks, but do you all have to stare?" asked James innocently. Lily burst out laughing at this comment.

"James, the moment that you become handsome, you'll have to tell us. But for now, do you have to lie?" asked Sirius.

"I'm hurt, Padfoot," said James in mock pain, holding up his hand to his heart.

"Well, it's true. The day you become handsome is the day pigs fly," said Lily.

"I can always transfigure a pig to fly," said James.

"You're not supposed to! I mean the day pigs fly on their own! Not with you putting wings on them!"

"Yeah Jamesie, it'll never happen is what we're trying to say," said Remus.

"What is with you guys and calling me Jamesie!" asked James.

"We could call you Prongsie," said Sirius.

"NO! Just… don't… call me anything," said James.

"Why not? Then we could call Harry Prongslet!" said Remus.

"Yeah, you're right! Harry, you are now Prongslet!" said Sirius. They all looked at Harry to see how he would take this, and found him completely ignoring them. "Hey! You're not even listening!" said Sirius.

"Am I supposed to be listening?" asked Harry.

"Yes! We just gave you a new name… don't walk away!" said Sirius as Harry got up and began to walk out the door. Sirius got up and grabbed Harry and forced him to sit down. Harry gave a sigh and sat down. Harry was in a good mood, anyone could tell that by just looking at him. James began to pile his plate high up with food, only to find Lily staring at him.

"What?" asked James.

"Do you have to eat that much? You'll eat the whole house if you continue on like this!"

"I don't fancy eating the house Lily, it just doesn't seem like it would taste good. No this food, however, tastes great," said James while smiling at Molly. She blushed and returned his smile. Molly then turned to Harry.

"Now, dear, you need to eat as much as you can. You didn't have dinner last night, thanks to Sirius-,"

"Hey! I did my best!"

"And you're looking a bit thin. I think that you should eat more than your father, if that is possible," she finished.

"It's not possible, Molly. No one could eat as much as Prongs, not even me," said Sirius.

"And that, of course, is _really_ saying something," said Remus while nodding his head. They joked around for a while after that. After a while, Lily, who always had been annoyed at James' hair, tried to brush Harry's. They had been all still eating, and most of them were almost done. Lily kept glancing at Harry. Then she jumped up.

"I can't stand it!" she wailed. She grabbed Molly's wand, (which had been on the table) conjured up a comb and proceeded to attack Harry's hair. The table watched on amused as Lily tried to tame Harry's hair, ignoring Harry's shouts, and ended up losing. "I don't believe it," she said, staring at Harry's hair, "It's worse than your father's. At least his showed _some_ sign of difference, but yours, it just stayed like that," said Lily, and she was right. His hair looked like the same before Lily tried to comb it, and if possible, even messier.

"I know. It never shows any change, even if you cut it. It just seems to grow back," said Harry while rubbing his head. "That did hurt, you know,"

"Of course it did! This is your mother we're talking about! She's tried to do something to my hair too, but she fails, just like she did on yours. Believe me, when your mother fails, she goes off in a corner and pouts about it all day," said James.

"I do not! It's you who pouts about stuff!" protested Lily.

"Oh no, she's in denial Prongs," said Sirius.

"I do not pout about anything!" she said again. James smirked. "Oh no, not **the glint**!" said Lily dramatically.

"What?" asked Harry.

"When your father gets a certain glint in his eyes, it means he's up to something. I've always called it **the glint**," answered Lily.

"Why would you ever think that, my dear Lily flower?" said James innocently.

"James, I've known you now for what? Ever since I started Hogwarts, and then I married you. I think that I know your habits better than anyone," said Lily.

"Mm. But you'll like this one!" said James.

"Ah ha! You do have something planned!" James leaned over and whispered in her ear. Lily smiled and proceeded to whisper something to Remus. Remus also got a glint in his eyes. He leaned over and told Sirius something. Who told Ron something. Who told Hermione something. Who told Molly something. Who told Fred and George something. Who told the rest of the table. The only person who hadn't been told was Harry.

"Is this going to involve me in some way in which I wouldn't like?" asked Harry warily. Sirius gave a fake jump of surprise.

"N-no, why would it?" he asked twitching. The whole table burst out laughing at Sirius' antics. Harry glared at them suspiciously.

"Now, why don't you go upstairs, and, um… do something that doesn't include coming down here for any reason other then a death eater attack," said Molly while pushing him out of the kitchen. The door slammed behind him.

"I am definitely looking out for anything suspicious," muttered Harry to himself. He turned around and walked upstairs.

* * *

Harry paced his room. They were up to something. You could tell. They had been down in the kitchen for at least an hour. And it was making him extremely jumpy and nervous. He was just beginning to wonder if he should run away or not when James bounded into his room.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully and jumped onto Harry's bed. Harry stared at him for a moment. One thing that he had learned about his father was that he was about as mature as a three year old. A three year old that was on a sugar high. There was no predicting what his father would do. It was one of the things that scared him a little.

"Sit!" commanded his father. He pointed at the space next to him on the bed. Harry sat down carefully.

"What are you planning?" asked Harry.

"I want to know all about you!" said James, completely ignoring Harry's question.

"Erm, like what?"

"Anything! Just stuff about you! It pains me that Sirius knows more about you than I do. And he's Sirius!" whined his father.

"Um… I like quidditch?" said Harry.

"I know that, you can't be my son and not like quidditch. Anyway, Ron already told me that. Or I think it was Ron," said James.

"Okay…" Harry sat thinking for a moment. "I don't like potions,"

"Why not?"

"Well, it's not the potions part that I really don't like, it's the teacher,"

"Really? Who's your teacher?" asked James. He had a nagging suspicion, but he didn't really want it to be…

"Snape," said Harry.

"Of course. It just had to be the one guy who hated me through out my life. Did he treat you unfairly?"

"If you count giving me detentions for no reasons, taking points away for nothing, and getting insulted by him at every lesson, then yes, he did treat me unfairly," answered Harry. James groaned.

"Remind me to kick him next time," said James. "By the sounds of it he really needs it,"

"That'll just make him take more points next class," said Harry. James groaned again.

"So, what else do you like or don't like?" asked James.

"Um… I don't like divination. The teacher predicted me death every lesson," said Harry.

"Ah, yes. The old divination teacher was fond of predicting my death too. As you can see, she was eventually right," said James while smiling. "But what she didn't get was that I would be coming back," Lily burst into the room at that moment.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully and sat down on Harry's bed next to Harry. She smiled at him. "So tell me about yourself," she said.

"I give up," said Harry and flopped onto his back. Lily stared at him.

"Erm…"

"He was having trouble telling about himself to me, and then you came in and asked the same question," James stage whispered to Lily.

"I can hear you, so you might as well speak normally," said Harry.

"Okay then, tell us why you fought a dragon," said Lily. Harry coughed a little.

"Reasons," he answered.

"That doesn't tell us anything!" said James. "Come on, tell us!"

"It's kind of a long story," said Harry.

"We have time," said Lily. Harry sighed. The time had come when he would have to tell his parents what had happened over the years.

"Well, that's later on more. I'll start at my first year in Hogwarts," said Harry. So he told them. He told them the main events of his first year, then his second year, then his third year. They were a good audience, they gasped in all of the right places, they laughed in all of the right places and Lily even screamed in a few of the more intense places. He paused at his fourth year, then began to tell them how he ended up in the triwizard tournament, how he battled through the dragon, (James looked proud) how he completed the second task, and when he got to the third task he paused again. He could tell that it was going to be hard to tell them what had happened to Cedric. He hadn't really felt like talking about it this summer, the nightmares he had had about the graveyard didn't help matters either.

"Go on," said Lily. Harry struggled for breath. Then he went on to describe the maze, and how he had convinced Cedric to take the cup with him. He paused again. He could tell that his parents saw something wrong.

"Harry, what happened?" asked James. Harry struggled for breath again. It was getting harder and harder to talk about it. All he was able to manage out was, "Kill the spare," James looked confused while Lily gasped.

"They killed Cedric didn't they?" she asked. "Somehow Voldemort come back and he killed Cedric didn't he?" asked his mom. Harry wondered where she had gotten such good sense. Harry contented himself with a nod. Lily gasped again while James looked horrified. Harry, summoning up the rest of his strength, continued on with his tale. He told his parents about the graveyard, about how Peter killed Cedric, (James made an angry hiss at Peter's name) about how they had taken his blood to bring Cedric back to life, about priori incantatem. By the end of it both James and Lily were stunned into silence. After a few seconds Lily burst into tears.

"Oh, my poor son!" she wailed and hugged him as hard as she could. It took James a little longer to process what Harry had told him, but in the end he hugged Harry too.

An hour later when Molly came up to tell them that lunch was ready she found them all asleep with their arms around each other.

* * *

When Lily woke up she wondered why she was warm but in an uncomfortable position. She sat up only to realize that she had fallen asleep with James and Harry. She looked at them. She had to admit, they looked cute together like this. She wished that she had a camera. Ron stuck his head in at that moment.

"Mum says that dinner is ready whenever you guys chose to wake up," said Ron. "You've slept like that the whole afternoon,"

"Thanks. I'll just wake them up," said Lily. She got up and turned to the two boys. She began to shake them. "Wake up," she whispered. Harry stirred, and then sat up. He looked around for a moment, and then laid back down. Lily shook him harder. Harry mumbled something incoherent and turned a little. Lily sighed. So far she had gotten at least some response from Harry, but none from her husband. That wasn't surprising, her husband could sleep through anything. She could only find it positive that Harry wasn't that much like his father. Lily sighed again. Time for the rougher course of action.

"Harry, quick, death eaters are attacking!" she whispered into his ear. The result was instant. Harry jumped up, tried to draw his wand, tripped over his feet, and fell onto the floor. He straightened up and scowled at her.

"That wasn't funny!" He said.

"Yeah it was. Now, help me wake up James here. He's impossible to wake," she said.

"Hold on, I got something good," said Harry. He turned to James. "Prongs! Quick! McGonagall is after us!" he shouted in James' ear. James leapt up and looked around groggily.

"Whatssit?" asked James sleepily.

"Why didn't I think of that?" asked Lily amazed. James scowled. "It's dinner time, we've slept the whole afternoon. Why don't we go?" said Lily quickly. James smirked suddenly and lunged at Lily. He began to tickle her ferociously. Harry laughed at his father's antics. After a few seconds of tickling James stopped. Lily straightened up and James gave her a charming smile. "Why do I have to be the one being tickled? It was Harry who woke you up," said Lily. James turned to Harry but he was already halfway out the door. Lily scowled. "Cheater," she muttered.

They went down to dinner to find a whole ton of members there. They had all decided to eat over. Lily shrugged and slid into her seat. It was an uneventful dinner, unless you count Fred 'accidentally' pushing Sirius' face into his plate of food. Lily smiled. Tonight had been a pretty good night.

* * *

James sat at the dinner table eating as much as he could. Which was a lot of food. Every once on a while he would pause in his mission to eat all of the food he can and would look around the table. Once when he glanced up he saw Ron, Hermione, and Harry whispering about something. He strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but with everyone else talking and the way that they had their voices down low he couldn't hear them. He frowned. Fred saw what he was doing and leaned over.

"Don't even try listening in on them. When they get like this it means that they're either talking about something really important or something really stupid. It happens a lot, you'll see them whispering. They have more secrets than the rest of us," Fred whispered.

"Yeah," said James. He watched them a few moments longer, and then went back to his plate. He would have to deal with it later.

After dinner was finished everyone sat at the table. Sirius ending up telling Harry some things about the order and what's been happening with Voldemort, to Molly's despair. In the end they were all pushed off to bed.

"No fair! We're adults! You can't push _us_ off to bed!" whined James as Molly hurried Lily and him off to their rooms.

"Well," started Molly, "James, you have the attitude of a child. So you have to go to bed. And then Lily has to watch over you to make sure you don't do anything stupid,"

"I don't have the attitude of a child! And Lily doesn't have to watch over me!"

"Come on dear, let's go to bed," said Lily in a kind voice as she dragged him up the stairs. James sighed as he was pushed into his room. Lily checked the hallway for a moment, and then turned to James.

"You do realize that she wanted everyone off to bed so that the kids wouldn't insist on staying up?" said Lily.

"Oh, um, of course I knew that!"

"Because Harry probably would want to stay up with us,"

"Right. I knew that,"

"Of course you did," said Lily as she slid into bed. James sighed again and slid into bed next to her.

James woke the next morning with Fred and George jumping on his bed shouting, "Wake up! Wake up!" James groaned and out his head under the pillow, which didn't work, so he threw it at them. Lily was standing next to the bed laughing. James was forced out of bed by the two twins. The twins smirked and gave each other high fives, having completed their mission.

"I'll be right back," said George and he ran out of the room. Lily attempted to go out of the door too, but Fred had it blocked.

"Sorry, can't let you out right now," he said.

"Why not?" asked Lily.

"Cause," said Fred. They waited a few moments, and then they heard George stomping to their door. The door swung open to reveal George who was dragging Harry into the room.

"Mum says that you three are to have bonding time because you three looked so cute yesterday when you fell asleep. We must tell you not to take any anger out on us and on mum, because this was her whole idea and not mine," said George. Both Fred and George ran out of the room and locked the door behind them. Lily, James, and Harry all stared at the door for a few moments before shaking their heads. They looked at each other and just shook their heads again. James collapsed onto the bed again, still feeling tired. Lily sighed and sat down into a chair. Harry stood for a moment before sitting down on the floor.

They stayed in silence for a while longer, before Lily couldn't stand the silence anymore. "So Harry, how are your grades?" she asked innocently. Harry was suddenly put into coughing fits and his face went red. "Does that mean that you have bad grades?" she asked again. It was obvious that she wasn't going to let the subject drop.

"Erm, Hermione helps me out usually," said Harry quickly. "And I have decent grades," he said.

"We'll fix that!" said Lily cheerfully. She looked delighted that she could do something for her son. Harry looked unhappy at the thought of more studying. Lily turned to say something to James, but she leaned forward and shrieked, "Did you fall back to sleep!" James groaned and rolled over.

"Five more minutes," he murmured into his pillow, which had been returned to him. Lily glared at him for a moment, and then grabbed the blanket off of the bed. James shivered for a moment, then curled up his body more and completely ignored the absence of the blanket. Lily grabbed the pillow and tried to remove it from his grasp, but his grip was to firm on that. Lily tried to move him, but he didn't budge.

"Harry! Help me!" said Lily. Harry got up and helped her get the pillow from James' grasp and then push him off the bed onto the floor.

"Ow!" said James as soon as he hit the hard wooden floor. He glared at Lily and Harry. "You'll pay for that one," he growled.

"Really? What will you do?" asked Harry smirking. James smiled and jumped over the bed to where Harry was so that he stood right in front of him.

"Must I remind you that there is nowhere to run here?" he said. Lily giggled.

"We realized that, James," she said.

"Well then, Harry, you will realize that you can't run out the door," said James. Harry looked confused for a moment, before it dawned on him. He attempted to back away, but James lunged forward and started tickling Harry mercilessly. Both Harry and James were laughing so hard that they couldn't breath. Lily watched on with amused eyes, until James got up and started tickling her. Then both Harry and Lily teamed up and went after James, who was tickled more than either of the two. By the time Molly finally came up to let them out all of them had been reduced to tears because they had been laughing so much.

* * *

Harry smiled when they went down to lunch. He was in a pretty good mood, considering that his parents almost tickled him to death. He had to admit though; it was fun being with his parents. As he entered the kitchen he looked around. There were just the Weasleys and Hermione in there right now, and no one else. Harry sat down in his seat next to Ron and Hermione. Hermoine started lecturing them on how they would have to do their homework or else they wouldn't find time to. Ron was complaining on how Harry got to spend time with his parents while he had to clean the house.

Hermione paused in her never-ending talk to scold Ron. "Ron, Harry just met his parents, your mum just wants them to spend time together. He'll probably start cleaning tomorrow," she said.

"It's still not fair! Why can't I spend time with my parents instead of cleaning?"

"Because your parents have been around all your life and they want to clean too!"

"So? That doesn't mean that I can't talk to them! Why can't I bond with them while everyone else is cleaning?" asked Ron.

"Ron, we've gone over this already! Your parents didn't die and then come back to life! Your parents didn't even die! So you already know your parents, so you don't need to bond with them!" she snapped. Ron grumbled and went back to his plate. Hermione started lecturing about homework again, and it was like the conversation never existed.

Sirius wandered over, took one look at the lecturing Hermione, and walked away again. "Wait, take me with you!" shouted Ron as he ran off after Sirius. Hermione huffed as she watched him go.

"I can't believe him, he's such an idiot, right Harry? Harry?" she said and as she looked back she saw that Harry had also left when she had looked away. Hermione scowled.

* * *

Wormtail cowered in front of his master again.

"I know the perfect way to draw them out," said Voldemort. "A battle in diagon ally. As soon as they come to help with the fighting, one of my death eaters will capture them. I want all of the Potters alive! This will take some planning though," he said. Wormtail nodded fearfully. Voldemort smiled, which looked really scary if you asked Wormtail's opinion.

* * *

A/N: Yeah! I finally got out this chapter! I'm really sorry about the wait, my computer had over 45 viruses and I had to put all of my stories on disk so I wouldn't lose the information. Please forgive all spelling mistakes and thanks to all reviewers for the last chapter! Please review for this one too! 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello. Thank you for all of the reviews! I'm really glad that you give them to me; they make my day (if they're good). Anyway, I have a lot planned for this chapter, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do it all for this one. I don't know, I let my hands guide me. They have a will of their own. Anyway, on with the story because you probably don't want to hear me rambling.

Disclaimer: I don't even own a piece of Harry Potter, even if I wish I did.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 4 **

* * *

James walked into the kitchen. He had smelled Molly cooking and let his nose guide him to where the food was. Lily was in the kitchen too, and it was then that James noticed that their robes were still the ones that they had died in. James winced when he realized this; he didn't want to remember that night, and wearing the clothes they had on then were a big reminder. James began to wonder where they could get new robes when it hit him; Diagon Alley! Why hadn't he thought of that right away? It was the most obvious option, and they needed to get to Gringotts anyway for money. Thinking about his made him wonder if Diagon alley was still were it used to be, and if it was even Diagon Alley! 

James sat down at the table thinking about this. He would have to ask someone, and seeing as Molly was right there, why not ask her? James opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment Fred and George came in. They made for James right away. They had a look of murder in their eyes. Fred spoke first, or he thought it was Fred. "So, your nickname is Prongs?" he asked innocently.

"Yes," said James suspiciously.

"Did you know any object called, I don't know, the Marauder's Map?" asked George.

"Yeah, me, Sirius, Remus and the rat made it. Why?" answered James.

"Do you know if Harry or anyone else know that you made the map?"

"Yeah, Harry Ron and Hermione both knew that it was us who made the map. Why?"

"Do you know how long they knew?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question,"

"Not until you answer why,"

"Nothing, we're just wondering,"

"Nice try. That doesn't work on me,"

"Please just tell us?"

"Fine. I think they knew about it since their… third year was it?"

"THIRD YEAR?"

"Why?"

"Come on George, let us go find our _dear_ brother and his _dear_ friends," snarled Fred. They left without another word, leaving a very confused James behind. James looked at Lily helplessly. Lily giggled.

"I think you just got our son into trouble," said Lily.

"How did I do that?" asked James. At that moment Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the kitchen. They looked around at the tense atmosphere.

"What? What happened?" asked Ron.

"James got you in trouble with the twins. They were asking about the map that he made, and he told him that he knew that you knew that they had been the Marauders in your third year, and they went off looking for you with murderous expressions on their faces," answered Lily.

"Why would they want to murder us though?" asked Ron. Hermione suddenly paled.

"Because we didn't tell them that we knew the Marauders! They had always wanted to know, and finding out that we knew in our third year and didn't tell them must have been a big hit," said Hermione. Ron groaned.

"We're dead," said Ron. "But I'm glad we didn't pass them on the stairs, who knows what they might have done. We'll just have to send in someone to calm them down. I propose that Harry go,"

"Why me? Why not you?" asked Harry.

"Because you're brave and I'm not,"

"You're scared of your brothers who have lived with you your whole life?" asked Hermione.

"You've never seen them in murder mode! They can kill you, I swear, they had Charlie in bed for a whole week after one particularly bad prank, even though I think that that was an accident," Ron said while waving his arms around. Hermione just sighed and sat down. "You'll see Hermione, you'll never know what hit you, one minute you'll be fine and the next minute your unconscious!"

"I think that you're over exaggerating Ron," said Lily calmly.

"I doubt it. I once pranked a guy for dating you, and he was in the hospital wing for a month," said James.

"That was you who did that!" shrieked Lily.

"Oh, damn," said James as he jumped up and ran from the kitchen, leaving a shrieking Lily behind him. James wandered down the hall and up the stairs. He was poking around in the rooms, when he came to Harry's room. He went inside and found it messy, most likely from Ron by the looks of it. James was about to walk out when he saw Harry's trunk open. He went over to his trunk and looked in it. He was suddenly aware that all of Harry's clothes were too big for him and they had holes in them. They looked like they had been handed down from an elephant, and he just realized that Harry had been wearing these clothes all day yesterday (today he had worn robes). The sizes were much too big for him and they didn't look like they would ever fit him. Now that he thought about it, Harry looked thinner than he should. Harry hadn't really talked about the home that he had lived in before he went to Hogwarts, and for some reason that was troubling him. He knew that Harry had gone to live with the Dursleys, but by the looks of it they had mistreated him more than he thought.

A noise on the stairs made him jump and remember that he wasn't really supposed to be here. He wanted to ask Molly about Diagon Alley anyways. He walked out into the hallway and went back to the kitchen. Harry was sitting by his mom at the table. They were both talking about something. James sat down at the table thinking hard. He couldn't go to Diagon Alley yet anyway, they had to tell the public that he was back. They didn't want to cause a panic, or at least Dumbledore didn't.

Fred and George bounded in at that moment. They looked overly cheerful. They made a beeline for Harry who hadn't yet realized that they were here. "Hello Harry," said George. Harry looked up at them.

"Hello," said Harry.

"We were just wondering if it was true that you knew the Marauders since third year?" asked Fred. Harry seemed to have a small coughing fit.

"Well, I better go," said Harry as he got up and tried to walk out of the kitchen. Fred and George cracked both evil smiles that were identical. Harry, taking this as a warning, whispered something in their ears. The twin's smiles widened and they nodded.

"You drive a hard bargain, Harry, but it's a deal," they said at the same time.

"What's a deal?" asked Lily, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing, nothing," said Fred. "Well, come on George, this changes all of our plans,"

"What did you tell them?" asked Lily when the twins went away.

"I can't tell you, that would ruin the whole joke," said Harry. Lily shook her head while frowning. She had never really approved of all the pranking business. Harry sat down at the table and began doing what looked like homework. As soon as he started, Lily seemed to appear at his shoulder. Harry looked surprised, but let his mom help him anyways.

Hermione entered the kitchen and made straight for Harry, who was still doing his homework with his mother. She sat down with them and started instructing Harry with Lily. It was kind of funny actually, seeing as Harry had two girls hanging over him while he tried to do his homework.

The day passed quickly. At dinner, James and Sirius banded together to make all of the food turn pink. Lily wouldn't touch it after that. Molly shrieked at Sirius and then said to James that it wasn't his fault, resulting in Padfoot hitting him on the head.

* * *

Lily was talking with Hermione. She really was a smart girl, but by the sounds of it Harry and Ron barely ever listen to her. Lily was talking about O.W.L.s with her and she really had some interesting things to say. It was fascinating to have someone else to talk to that actually understood what she was saying and listened to her. After some time talking about O.W.L.s Lily decided that she should change the subject. 

"So, how did you and Harry first meet?" asked Lily curiously. Hermione smiled.

"The first time we meet was on the train ride to the school, I was helping a someone look for a pet. Back then we weren't friends though. It took a while for them to actually talk to me because I was always answering questions in class and everyone called me a know-it-all," she answered.

"How did you become friends?" asked Lily.

"Well now, that's an interesting story. You see, it just so happened that on Halloween a troll was let in. I was in the bathroom crying because of something Ron said to me, and the troll came in the room. Ron and Harry had been looking for me because they knew that I wasn't aware that there was a troll in the castle. They came into the bathroom and ended up saving me from it,"

"They saved you from a troll! In your first year!"

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing. Now that I think about it though, it was funny the way they did it, even if it was terrifying at the time. Harry did a very stupid thing; he jumped on the troll, and ended up accidentally sticking his wand up its nose. Then Ron knocked it out with it's own club by using the 'wingardium levoisa' spell. When the teachers came in you should have seen their faces! It was a mountain troll too," said Hermione. "After that we just kind of became friends,"

"I see. So, my son defeated a troll in his first year along with stealing the sorcerer's stone?"

"Ah, well, that isn't all he's done,"

"He's done more!"

"Well, I try to stop them, but no! They never listen to me!" scowled Hermione. Remus heard this comment from where he was positioned at the table.

"I presume you're talking about Harry and Ron?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, how could you tell?" asked Hermione sarcastically. Remus smiled.

"It was obvious, they never listen to sense. I remember when Harry went illegally into Hogsmeade when everyone told him not to," said Remus. "He had just gotten the map in his possession. I was a professor at the time, so naturally, I confiscated it," Sirius, who had heard this, scowled.

"I can't believe that you took the map away from them! You know that they needed it if they wanted to pull off successful pranks!" said Sirius.

"They never pranked anyone, they went on missions to rid the world of evil!" said Remus. The two girls and Sirius stared at him. "Okay, so I may be over exaggerating a little bit, but you don't have to stare at me like that!"

"Right, anyways," said Hermione, blinking a little. "Harry and Ron were always getting into trouble. As Harry is fond of saying, 'I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me',"

"Yeah, they were always out after curfew and were always finding ways to break the rules without meaning to," said Sirius. "It was quite lucky that one night that they decided to go to Hagrid's hut when Buckbeak was supposed to be executed even though they weren't allowed or else I would have never met him,"

"Well, we had to go! I mean, we couldn't have left Hagrid there!" protested Hermione weakly. By that time more people had joined their conversation, including Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, and Ginny. Together they told some of the more minor adventures of Harry's and his friend's life that really wouldn't be considered minor to anyone else. By the time dinner was ready, Lily was fuming at some of the more stupid things that her son had done. Lily really wanted to yell at him for being stupid enough to yell at the minister, even thought that git had deserved it, but decided not to. She didn't want to scare her son away with her temper when she had only just met him.

When James, Harry and Ron walked in they stopped at the sight of all of the people at one side of the table. The whole group had gone quiet when they entered. "Why do I have a feeling that they were talking about us?" asked Harry.

"Because they probably were by the looks of it," answered James. Harry sighed and sat down at the other end of the table were no one seemed to be sitting. James sat down on one side of Harry and Ron on the other. Hermione wandered over to them and sat down next to Ron. Molly served them all food and everyone ate in, weirdly enough, silence. Until James broke it, that is.

"I was thinking," started James. Sirius gave a gasp.

"I didn't know you had it in you Prongsie," said Sirius.

"Shush. Like I was saying, I've been thinking. We need to go to the ministry to get me and Lily back on the alive list, and then I want to go to Diagon Alley because we need some clothes. It would also be nice to go back to Potter Manor for a while," said James thoughtfully.

"Potter Manor?" asked Lily. "I didn't know that we had a Manor,"

"I didn't tell you. I think that it's bigger than Hogwarts, but the only reason Hogwarts is more safe is that it has more secret passage ways and it's more confusing. I know everything in the Potter Manor, and believe me, there is a lot," said James.

"I remember Potter Manor. Wasn't it like Hogwarts except slightly bigger and less mysterious?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah. We would spend a lot of time there, that was where I grew up," said James.

"It's like Hogwarts?" asked Harry in awe.

"Yeah. The Potter line is one of the most ancient lines around. I think that it's even older than the Malfoy line, and maybe a little older than the Black line. It certainly is the richest line there is, but I'm not for sure on that anymore seeing as I've been dead for fourteen years. How did I come back anyway?" asked James wonderingly. "But anyway, sorry Lily, but I didn't want to take you to Potter Manor. There were just to many memories of my parents and I hadn't quite gotten over the loss yet. Then there was the fact that I wanted to live somewhere less massive for a while. But anyway, now that I think about it, we should have lived at the Manor. The Manor has as many wards as Hogwarts, except for maybe a few,"

"Does that mean I can do magic there and the ministry won't know?" asked Harry excitedly.

"Yeah, you can do as much magic as you want," said James. Harry smiled happily. "But anyway, the first thing that we need to do before we go to the Manor is go to the ministry. They'll want to know that we're back,"

"Quite right, James. I've already set up a meeting with the minister tomorrow," said Dumbledore as he walked calmly into the kitchen. Lily couldn't help but wonder how Dumbledore had gotten such good timings on these sorts of things. James seemed to echo want she was thinking.

"How do you always have such good timing?" asked James suspiciously. "If I didn't know better I would say that you've been listening in on our conversations, but there really wouldn't be a point to that would there?"

Dumbledore continued on as though James hadn't spoken. "So, after you've spoken with the minister, I feel that it would be necessary to take you to Diagon Alley. I thought that we should tell the world that you are back, because my sources tell me that Voldemort knows you're back. There isn't any point in hiding it, and you should be able to go out in public without people gawking at you and fainting,"

"Yeah, we definitely wouldn't want that," muttered James. "I mean, the news that two people have come back from the dead won't make them faint either," Dumbledore continued to ignore James.

"I think that you should be safe at Potter Manor, which is the place that I would like you to stay at, after we've gotten the whole matter about being dead cleared up,"

"Okay then," said Lily cheerfully. "So tomorrow we're going to tell the world that we're back?"

"Well, I don't know when the paper is going to get out that you have come back, so I think that it would be wise to wait a day before you go out in public. We don't want to set the world into a panic," said Dumbledore.

"Do you have any idea how we came back?" asked Lily.

"I have a few theories, but I don't know if they are correct. It might be because of priori incantatum that Harry used at the last task, or it might just be because Harry needed you. I think that a combination of both of these brought you back," answered Dumbledore. "It would explain why you came back and Cedric Diggory didn't,"

"Yeah," said Harry quietly. Lily sighed. It was painfully obvious that Harry was blaming himself for the death of Cedric, and that he was depressed over it, but the only other person who seemed to have noticed this fact was Ginny. She was trying to coax Harry out of his shell and to open up more, but it wasn't working very well. One thing that Lily noticed was that Harry was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to, only that he didn't want to often. The only other person who could see through his mask was Ginny, but why it was Ginny Lily didn't know, because Hermione seemed like a more likely candidate.

"So we're going to go to Diagon Alley as soon as word gets out that we're alive?" asked James.

"Yes. We don't want to scare the people more than we have to," said Dumbledore.

"Okay then," said James cheerfully. Dumbledore stayed for a few more minutes, but he only came to tell them that information. Lily couldn't wait for tomorrow. She wanted to go to Diagon Alley as soon as possible. She wanted to see her old friends, not just the ones in the order. Lily wanted to go and see how much things have changed, and she wanted to look around the shops.

* * *

James woke up the next day to see Lily up and bustling around. She was getting ready for the day happily, humming to herself. One could tell by just looking at her that she was excited. James didn't blame her, he wanted to get the whole mess cleared up too and today would be the day that they could do that. He wanted to see everyone that he used to know. He asked around about some of the people he used to know. He was disappointed to find out how many died. When he found out about Frank and Alice Longbottom he had gotten angry at the person who caused their insanity, and had to go cool down for an hour. He was friends with Frank and Alice, and the fact that they had a baby boy too made a plus because then they could bring Harry over to play when he was younger. 

James got out of bed and began to get dressed. He was in an unusually good mood today, seeing as he had just gotten up. He and Lily went down to breakfast to find Dumbledore downstairs waiting for them and Harry begging Dumbledore to let him go with them to the ministry. It was obvious that he wasn't going to let Harry go, and it was obvious that Harry knew this, but he kept trying anyway.

"Please? I won't draw attention to myself,"

"No, you can't go, you'll be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, and that's stretching it thin,"

"But I want to go!"

"Harry, there are death eaters constantly trying to kill you. You can't go,"

"I'll try not to draw any attention to myself. I'll stay in the shadows!"

"You draw attention to yourself whether you want to or not. You can't go. Please stop asking," Harry sighed and turned away.

"Don't worry, we'll fill you in," said James. "You won't be missing much, just me telling off Fudge about Sirius. I swear, I'm gonna kick his-,"

"Okay, why don't we go now?" intervened Lily swiftly. James scowled at her but said nothing. James and Lily walked out with Dumbledore onto the street. From there they apparated into the ministry (James and Lily were both under an invisibility cloak). Dumbledore purposely strode up to Fudge's office. When they entered Fudge looked up and swelled up pompously.

"You needed to speak with me headmaster? Or is this another a dead man coming back to life thing?" said Fudge.

"Ah, another dead man coming back to life thing, but not the one you're thinking. A dead man and woman," answered Dumbledore. Fudge's eyes widened.

"Oh, so first it's you-know-who coming back, which is completely ludicrous by the way, now it's another person? Well, who is it?" asked Fudge, making it sound like he was only humoring Dumbledore. James threw off the cloak.

"Hello Fudgey," said James. Fudge fell off the chair he was sitting in. He quickly stood up, ignoring James snickers.

"And let me guess, the woman is-,"

"Me," said Lily, also taking off the cloak. Fudge gaped at them helplessly before springing into action.

"Well then, you wouldn't mind if I test you under veritaserum?" asked Fudge, and without waiting for an answer he summoned a guard, who promptly fainted at the sight of James, and who Fudge had to revive. "We need veritserum for these two people," said Fudge pompously. The guard nodded mutely and went to get the potion. When he came back he handed Fudge the bottle and Fudge said, "Sit down… Mr. Potter," James quickly sat down in a chair and the guard administered the serum. James felt himself going into a stupor.

"Your name is?"

"James Thomas Potter,"

"And your date of birth?"

"August thirteenth," (A/N: I don't really know when his birthday is, sorry if it's wrong)

"And your wife's name?"

"Lily Evans Potter,"

By now Fudge was getting flustered. He was desperate to prove this guy wrong, so he asked, "And who was your secret keeper?"

"Peter Pettigrew,"

"That isn't right! It was Sirius Black!"

"No, it was Peter Pettigrew. We switched at the last moment because we thought that no one would think Peter as our secret keeper. It turns out that he was working for Voldemort the entire time,"

"But… that can't be true!"

"It is. Sirius told me what happened when I came back, he told me that when he found out what Peter had done he went after him, and tried to kill him, but failed. Peter blew up the whole street with the wand behind his back and transformed into a rat to escape,"

"But Peter isn't an animagus!"

"He's an unregistered animagus,"

Fudge glared at James for a moment before administering the antidote. He turned to Lily and asked the same questions. After a while Fudge finally pronounced both of them alive and well and that they were both Lily and James Potter. He also pronounced Sirius innocent. That afternoon they went to Grimmauld place feeling much better.

* * *

_**Lily and James Potter Alive!**_

_**By: Rita Skeeter** _

_Startling new evidence shows that Lily and James Potter, who supposedly died on October 31 many years ago, just came back to life. Or did they? Were they hiding this entire time? Or did they do what we thought was impossible and break the laws of death to come back again? We can only guess the answer. More information on page ten.

* * *

_

**_Sirius Black is innocent!_**

**_By: Rita Skeeter_**

_Sirius Black, who we all thought to betray Lily and James Potter, broke out of Azkaban years ago, the first one to do so. But did Black really betray the Potters? When Lily and James Potter were brought out into the open they answered this question. No. He didn't. It turns out that Peter Pettigrew was the one to betray the Potters. Sirius Black had convinced the Potters at the last moment to change secret keepers to one that he thought would be a better choice, because he thought that no one would suspect Peter as the secret keeper. As it turns out, Pettigrew was the traitor. Pettigrew blew up the street of muggles while blaming Black, and fled down into the sewers in his rat form (he was an unregistered animagus). Mr. Black is now free of all charges and has gotten one million galleons in apology for sending him to prison. For more information on Sirius Black, turn to page thirteen.

* * *

_

James smiled as he read the paper. It was the day after he and Lily went to the ministry. Today was the day that they were going to go to Diagon Alley. James couldn't wait, he really wanted to go. Sirius had been finally proclaimed innocent, and both he and Lily were claimed alive again. This day was a happy day for everyone in headquarters.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's another chapter done! I've been going through writer's block; so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while. Next chapter is where they go to Diagon Alley! Review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Do you even have to ask? I will never own Harry Potter.

A/N: Well, here's another chapter! I'm really sorry; I'm bad at battle scenes. I just can't seem to do them well. Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait, but I've been really busy these past few days. On with the chapter!

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 5**

Lily smiled and looked around the room, preparing for their Diagon Alley visit. She couldn't wait for the visit; she really wanted to spend some time with Harry. Sirius had just been pronounced innocent and they were now legally alive again, pretty much the first people to ever come back from the dead. She couldn't remember anything from when she was dead though, which people seemed fond of asking her and James.

Lily began to hum a song under her breath. She was in a really good mood, and she couldn't wait to get out of this house. Dumbledore also said that they were going to move into Potter Manor soon too, and she couldn't wait to see what it was going to be like. James had never told her about owning a whole Mansion! She wished that she had known, or else they might not have had to leave Harry as long as they did. In fact, this whole mess might not have happened if James had just told her about the manor that they owned.

Lily began to plan out where they would go when they were at Diagon Alley. She had a bad habit of planning out schedules of where they would go and what they would do before they actually went there. It annoyed James so much that once when she was telling him where they would go to buy baby Harry's clothes when they were out shopping he had 'accidently' lost her in the crowds. Needless to say, she was fuming by the time she had gotten back to their house, and James was subjected to her wrath. He was bedridden for the rest of the day.

Lily went downstairs to have some breakfast. Fred and George were there in the corner discussing something, which couldn't be any good because from what she's gathered they are the new generation of Marauders. But what surprised her most was that Harry was with them, looking a bit uncomfortable but a bit eager too. She narrowed her eyes and walked up to them.

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously. All three of them looked up innocently.

"What do you mean, we're just sitting here, talking nicely about stuff that has nothing to do with pranking Ron or Hermione," said Fred.

"Yeah, I mean, why would we do that? I mean, it's not like they were keeping a secret from us that we really wanted to know for about… three years? Why would they do that?" added George.

"Oh, you mean the map? But then, why is Harry here? Didn't he know about it too?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, but he's done a bargain with us. Anyway, we aren't going to prank them," said Fred innocently. It didn't work on Lily though. Knowing when people were lying or covering up something, especially when they were being obvious about it on purpose, came with living with James.

"Of course, and next thing you know Voldemort will be dancing the ballet with a tutu on in front of all of his death eaters," said Lily. At this, Harry gagged.

"Ugh, bad images," he said when everyone looked at him. Fred and George laughed.

"Looks like he'll be able to keep up our image when we leave, if he puts his mind to it, right Gred?"

"Right you are Forge," They both turned to Harry and said at the same time, "Well, nice doing business with you Harry. We hope to work with you in the future," they said while shaking his hand. Lily waited until Fred and George were out of earshot to question Harry, which she did.

"What were they talking about? Why were you with them? What prank are they going to pull? Why are you helping them?" she asked, saying all of the questions that were coming to her mind. Harry got up and tried to run away, but to no success. Lily kept questioning him until Sirius took pity on him and came to his rescue.

When it came time to go to Diagon Alley, Lily was pretty much bouncing off the walls. She couldn't wait until they were shopping and having a good time, which they were sure to have. She desperately wanted to go out and do stuff, which they were sure to do. Everyone watched as an overexcited Lily went around muttering to herself about what she needed to do and where they needed to go. "Is she always like that?" asked Ron to James.

"Sadly enough, yes," answered James. Unfortunately for him, Lily heard this.

"What did you just say?" she shrieked as turned to face him, all her anxiety coming off her in waves. She had finally found an outlet for all of her panic, and she couldn't help but to get rid of it. As soon as James saw that he was going to be the victim here, he ran up the stairs as fast as he could without breaking anything, mainly himself. Everyone watched as Lily chased James around the house screaming at him while the portrait of Mrs. Black started screaming her head off. All in all, it was an amusing morning.

* * *

James entered Diagon Alley with all of the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Harry. Sirius seemed to hide behind Harry a little seeing as he didn't know if people had gotten the story of him being innocent. As soon as they walked into Diagon Alley, the whole street fell into a hush, and then they all surged forward. They all seemed to want their attention. 

"James Potter!"

"I always knew that they would find a way to come back!"

"Lily! My God, I thought I wouldn't see you again until I died!"

"Look! It's Harry Potter!"

Everyone was crowding around them, all of them talking at once. James sighed. So much for a peaceful shopping day. It was obvious that the others didn't know how to get out of this either. Though, no one had noticed Sirius yet, which James considered a good thing, seeing as Sirius would likely blow up when people started saying that the always thought that he was innocent, which they most likely would. That was, until a man that both James and Sirius always hated came up to them. Him and Sirius never really talked to this guy, but when they did it was only insults that passed between them. The man, who's name was Lanish, smiled at him.

"Well well well, I always thought that you would break the rules again and come back to life," he sneered. He was a greasy man, but nowhere near as greasy as Snape, and was a Slytherin when he was at school. James glared coolly at the man. "But anyways, how's Black? I hear that he betrayed you? Is that true?"

"No, we switched secret keepers," snapped James. Most of the crowd had gone quiet at this argument. They were all trying to listen to hear what he was saying.

"Of course. You could never trust Black. I mean, he wasn't dependable and was always getting into trouble,"

"We all got into trouble at school, in case you didn't notice," answered James smoothly.

"Yeah, but wasn't Black the worst?"

"No, I was,"

"Right, I bet that you're just covering up for him, that idiot," James opened his mouth to respond, but Sirius beat him to it.

"He doesn't need to cover for me, I'm right here in case you're so blind to not notice," said Sirius. Most of the crowd gasped, then surged forward again, all trying to talk to him. Lanish was pushed back into the crowd, but he was wearing a peculiar expression, almost one of triumph.

When they were finally able to calm the crowd down they all went to Gringotts where James and Lily checked in and verified that they were alive. When they went to the vaults, they went to the Weasleys first, then to the Potters. James tried to get the Weasleys to go back and wait for them, but they wouldn't go. He didn't want them to see how much money they had. The goblin went up to a door, which was as smooth as stone, almost looking as if it wasn't there, except for the fact that it had a number on it saying what vault it was.

When the goblin opened up the door there was nothing there but two separate doors. Lily looked disappointed, as did Harry, but James leaned towards them and whispered, "Wait until you see what are behind the doors," which made them perk up instantly. When they went into the first door, all they saw were mountains of gold, piles of silvers, and stacks of bronze. It was an amazing sight, and the room was very large. By the looks of it, there were millions of galleons here. Lily nearly fainted on sight of it all. James smiled at their reactions. In reality, this wasn't all that they had, being that they had more money at other Gringotts around the country. But telling them that could wait for later, seeing as they looked like they couldn't take much more.

James began to pile some money into his bag. He looked over and saw that Lily was doing the same, while Harry and the others were just sitting around staring at it all in shock. James walked over to them impatiently.

"Are you just going to sit there or are you guys going to get some money?" he asked.

"What?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Well, it isn't fair that I take you here just to show you all of this money, now is it? Help yourself," said James.

"We couldn't-" started Mrs. Weasley, but James cut her off.

"Of course you can. We have enough to spare, don't worry about that," said James. "Now, why don't you all go and fill up your bags?" Molly looked as though she wanted to protest, but seeing James' stubborn look, she got up hesitantly and began to fill her bag.

They all stayed in the room filled with money for a few more moments, but most of them had their bags full and wanted to go instead of staring at all of the money. James smiled. Wait until they see the other room.

"Okay everyone," he called over everyone. "We're going to go to the next room, where it is even more cooler than here. But there, you can't touch anything, understood?" Everyone looked confused for a moment before nodding. James smiled. "Good. Then let's go!"

James was right in telling them to not touch anything. In the next room there was every object that you could imagine, things from old-fashioned dresses to dark objects. It was painfully obvious that most of these things had hexes and curses on them, so it would be better if they didn't touch anything, lest they get blown up by accident. James glanced around the room, and then went carefully to a drawer that wasn't there before. He opened it and found his and Lily's wands there. He smiled and called to Lily. She came over to him and gasped and grabbed her wand.

"My wand! Thanks, James," she said.

"No problem," said James even though he really didn't do anything, he just found the drawer. Sirius wandered over to them and smiled when he saw that they had gotten their wands back.

"I think that it would be time for us to go now, Prongsie," said Sirius. "We still have places to go, not just here,"

"We know," snapped James. The rounded everyone up and they all walked out into the street. From there they all split up, Ron and Hermione going with Ginny to the bookstore, Molly and Arthur going to Madam Malkins, Sirius, Remus, Fred, and George going to a joke shop that they had seen along the way, and Harry and his parents just walking around.

* * *

Harry looked around the shops happily. He enjoyed being with his parents, even if Lily and James did fight a lot. Actually, it was amusing to see them fight as it was always over something stupid. They decided to go to a pet store so that James and Lily could get owls. 

Harry glanced around the shop. It was an interesting place. It was full of owls, rats, frogs, rabbits, salamanders, and a whole ton of other pets. It was slightly cramped in here, but that was because there were so many cages surrounding the walls. What made Harry most interesting was a pure white snake in the farthest corner of the room, looking as though it had been pushed back there. Harry glanced at it curiously. The storekeeper saw him looking at it and seemed to jump on him immediately.

"That's a rare breed of snake, that is," he said quickly. "It had a lot of powers, and not many spells work on it. It would be useful in a duel if you ever needed something to help you," he said. "In fact, I just got him in. Do you want him?" asked the shopkeeper desperately. At that moment James asked something from the other end of the shop and the man went over to help him.

_/The man lies/_ hissed the snake. _/ I got here weeks ago, he just doesn't like me. He wants to get rid of me. But, I guess some things in that statement are true./_ Harry smirked.

/_Why does he want to get rid of you/ _asked Harry.

/_Because I've been annoying him. I'm always waking up the other animals in the night and doing things like that./_

/_So, what can you do/ _asked Harry curiously.

_/That's a stupid question. You should ask something like 'what can't you do/_

_/So, you're full of yourself/_

_/…/_

_/Really, though, what can you do/_

_/Well, I guess I am faithful, but only to my master, if I get a master that is. Then most spells don't affect me. They had to put a whole ton of charms on this one cage just to keep me in here/_

_/I see/ _Lily seemed to chose that moment to come by him. To hear your son having a conversation with a snake would probably be scary, especially when you barely know your son. She stopped, as if frozen, as she stared at Harry.

_/Nice woman there. That your mother/ _

_/Yes. Shut up/ _"Erm, hello," said Harry sheepishly.

"Um, were you just talking to that snake?"

_/Wow, she's a slow one/_

_/I said shut up/ _"Yeah," At that moment a bang sounded outside. Lily jumped and looked out the window.

_/It's the men in masks/ _hissed the snake. Harry wasted no time in taking out his wand and running into the street. Sure enough, there were death eaters all over the place. James and Lily came out after, both of them also pulling out their wands. The both looked grim. They were about to tell Harry to stay inside the store, but he had already run off.

Harry was stunning as many death eaters as best he could. This was one of the death eater's first raids, and Fudge had to be stupid to not believe that Voldemort was back now. Everyone was running around and screaming, creating a panic while not helping with the fighting at all. Harry looked around for Ron and Hermione, but he didn't see them anywhere.

Harry began to look around for his friends while stunning death eaters. He hoped that they didn't get hurt and that they were all right at the moment.

"Well well well, if it isn't Potter," said a smooth voice from behind Harry. Harry turned around and looked into the cold gray eyes of Lucius Malfoy. Harry raised his wand higher.

"Stupify!"

"CRIUCO!"

* * *

James was looking all over for Harry. He was going to tell him that he needed to stay inside one of the shops so he didn't get hurt, even if Ron told him that that wouldn't work and he would insist on fighting. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny found them right after the death eaters started attacked, only a few moments after Harry left. James looked around frantically. There were screams all over, but one scream sounded familiar… Harry! 

James sprinted off in that direction, hoping to find Harry. He searched as much as he could, but it seemed that he couldn't find his son in these crowds. Which was a very bad thing, seeing as his son was currently screaming. The only thing that could make Harry scream was the Cruciartis (A/N: I don't think that I spelled that right) curse. James seemed to double his search when he thought of this, though it did little good.

James made his way back to the shop where Lily and the others were. They all looked at him hopefully, but James just shook his head. He probably shouldn't tell them about the scream though, seeing as that would get them all worked up and they would risk themselves to go out and find him. A hissing to his right made James look at the white snake that Harry had been conversing with. It was struggling to get out of the cage, and by the looks of it he was doing a pretty good job.

The cage finally gave way to the snake and the snake slithered away across the floor. Hermione gave a small scream when she saw it coming, but the snake passed by her. The snake looked like it wanted to get somewhere, and that it was in a hurry. The thing slithered out of the store and onto the street. James soon lost sight of the serpent, but it didn't really matter to him. As long as the snake didn't hurt anyone that he cared about, the snake could be free for all he cared.

* * *

Harry screamed again. It felt like a million burning knives were being pierced into his skin. When Malfoy finally let up off of the curse, Harry tried to get to his wand, only to be put back under the curse again. It was very painful, and no matter how much he tried not to scream it just kept coming out. When he lifted the curse again, Harry heard a small hissing in his ear. 

/_I have decided that you will be my new master. You are brave, and are a little bit smart, so you will be the perfect person/ _hissed the white snake that had been in the shop.

_/Okay, is there any chance that you could get me out of this mess? And where are you/ _asked Harry, because he couldn't see the white snake anywhere.

/I'm invisible, you idiot. And of course I can get you out of this mess, that's what I'm here for/

/_Oh, well, thanks/_ said Harry. He heard, or rather sensed, the snake going towards Malfoy. Malfoy hadn't seemed to notice the fact that Harry had just conversed with a snake. He was too busy laughing at Harry to bother watching what Harry was doing, except unless he moved which caught his attention right away. Harry smirked as he felt the snake moving towards Malfoy, and when the snake was a few inches away, the snake bit his leg. Malfoy let out a piercing scream and clutched his leg. His robes were soaked with blood after a few seconds.

/_Did you poison him/ _Harry asked.

_/As much as I wanted to, I didn't. I kept the venom that I had in my fangs so that this man could get properly punished. He will be in pain for a couple more hours, though/_ the snake hissed back. He made himself visible and Harry was looking into the ocean blue eyes of the snake.

/_What's your name, anyway/ _asked Harry, for the first time realizing that he didn't know what the snake was called.

/_They call me Ice/ _said Ice. Harry nodded. That sounded like a good name for the snake, not to mention that it suited him, being a pure white snake, and having icy blue eyes. /_Are you okay? That man seemed to be putting you in intense pain/_

_/I'll be fine, don't worry. Do you know if my friends are all right/_

_/They're fine. They're at the shop that I was held in./ _Harry sighed in relief. He was very worried about them; he didn't know if they had joined the fight or not. Most of that time was spent worrying about them when he was running around, so he was glad that they were okay. Ice began to slither off so Harry, having nothing else to do, followed him.

Ice led him back to the pet store where he saw all of the Weasleys, Hermoine, his parents, Remus, and Sirius. They looked like they were panicking, and with a pang, Harry realized that it was most likely about him. Harry glanced around the street and saw that most of the death eaters had apparated away. They probably just came to cause a panic. At that moment, Lily caught sight of him.

"Harry!" she shrieked as he entered the shop. Lily threw herself at him and captured him in a hug. "You idiot! How could you just go running out into the street like that? Do you know how worried I was!"

"I'm fine, don't worry," said Harry quickly. Ice made a sound that sounded like a snort.

_/You were subjected under about ten pain curses and you say you're all right/_ Harry ignored him.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, we're all fine," said Sirius. "Other than a little scare when you went charging out into the street, none of us are injured," James was looking hard at Harry. Harry knew that he was a little pale and a little shaky, but he didn't think that it was anything important. That was, until James spoke up.

"Harry, were you under the cruciartis curse?" he said in a sharp voice. Remus turned quickly and glanced over Harry.

"You have the symptoms," said Remus.

"Erm, don't worry, it's nothing," said Harry quickly, hoping to dismiss the matter, but that didn't happen. James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily all gave shouts at the same time.

"Who did it?" growled Sirius.

"Erm, Lucius Malfoy, but he's going to be in pain for a while, thanks to Ice," said Harry.

"Ice?" asked Lily perplexedly, while trying to look over Harry better.

"Yeah, Ice," said Harry while nodding towards his snake, who slithered into the light. Hermione gave a soft scream. "Don't worry, Ice won't harm you. I think," said Harry. "I dunno, I haven't gotten to know him that well." Most of his friends were pale.

"Erm, why is that snake with you?" asked Remus carefully. Harry gave him a brief smile.

"Well, number one, he saved my life, number two, he says I'm his new master and that he won't leave me now, and number three, I kinda like him,"

"You like him?" asked Ginny, horrified.

"Well, yeah, he has a few interesting things to say, even if most of them are sarcastic," answered Harry.

"Right. I almost forgot that you were a parselmouth," said Hermione faintly. Harry gave them another smile.

"Do you have to keep him? I don't think that the wards around our house will let you keep a dangerous creature like that," complained James.

_/Foolish human. When I'm bonded with my master, nothing can keep me away, least of all wards. Anyways, there are other snakes and dangerous creatures where he lives and the wards don't keep them out_/

Harry quickly said this to the rest of the party. James gaped at them, completely speechless. Then Harry thought of something that was thrown into that statement that he didn't quite get.

/_What do you mean bonded/_ asked Harry suspiciously. The snake seemed to sigh in annoyance.

/_What I mean, is that we both give a little of our blood to each other/_ said Ice. It was Harry's turn to gape speechless at Ice.

/_I'm not giving my blood/ _snapped Harry.

_/Yes, you are. Don't argue./_

"Um, Harry, all the snake talk is kinda getting weird," said Ron. Harry jumped. He had completely forgotten that they were there.

James seemed to be determined to lighten the mood. "Okay, everyone, next stop, Potter Manor!" he said while everyone seemed to cheer. They began to walk towards the floo. "All you need to say is 'Potter Manor' and you'll get out at the entrance hall," said James. Harry took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in the fireplace.

"Potter Manor!" he shouted while he began spinning around really fast.

* * *

A/N: Cliffie! Anyway, please review! 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: There will be no way that I will ever own Harry Potter, even if I do wish it.

A/N: Hello everyone! I've been busy, but I've been trying to find as much time as I can for this story. I haven't really updated my other stories because I've been focusing on this one, but I'll try to update them more. Oh, and parseltongue will be spoken like this /…/

* * *

Returning of the Parents By: AutumnBreeze12 Chapter 6 

Harry felt himself spinning around and around in the fireplace before he came out and fell on the floor. He scrambled to get out of the way of the people who were coming through, and barely got out of the way in time for Lily to come through, but more gracefully. She gaped at their surroundings, which Harry didn't blame her for. It was the most beautiful place that he had ever seen; it had tapestries and drapes all over the hall, giving it a nice look. There were statues and other things like that around the place, and it made it look professional. At that moment James came out of the fireplace and stood up, brushing himself off. He looked around with a pained expression on his face. It was obvious that this house, or mansion, brought up memories for him, which he didn't want to face.

"It's… big. It's very large," said Lily, while staring opened mouthed at all of the surroundings.

"Yeah, I know. The first thing that Remus and Sirius said when they first came here was either that it was big, that was Remus, or 'bloody hell', which was Sirius," said James matter of factly.

"Language, James," said Lily. "So, how large is this place anyway?"

"Hmm… why don't I show you guys the outside of it and then you can figure that out," said James. At that moment the rest of the party arrived. Ron looked around the hall with wide eyes, and began to have trouble breathing. No one went to help him except for James, because everyone else was either staring with shock at their surroundings or lost in their memories.

Ice hissed suddenly/_Something is coming, master/ _As soon as Ice said this two house elves appeared. They both threw themselves at James.

"Oh, master James, sir! We always knew that you would come back someday sir!" said one of the elves, while hugging his knees. The other elf hung back a little bit, as though debating whether or not to also throw himself at James.

"Hello Dinky, hello Binky," said James while laughing. Everyone looked at the house elves now, not sure what they should do. James, upon seeing their unsure looks, laughed and said, "Dinky, Binky, I'm sure you remember Sirius and Remus? And then this is Lily, Molly, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Arthur, and Harry. Did I get everyone? Well, anyway, these are my two house elves that looked after me when I was growing up, Binky and Dinky," James said all of this really fast, making everyone's heads spin a little. James smiled at their confused looks, it was what he had intended to do. "Right, let's go outside now,"

"Why do we need to go outside?" asked Remus suspiciously.

"Because I need to show them how big the castle is. Anyway, we have our own lake, which is actually slightly bigger than the Hogwarts one, then there is the quidditch pitch, and our gardens, and a whole ton of lawns, and a whole ton of other things too," said James. "Come on, I want to show you the quidditch pitch!"

Everyone followed James out of the main hallway and through the big doors that was obvious that they were going to go outside. When outside, everyone was speechless again. James was right; the castle was bigger than Hogwarts. Instead of Hogwarts, however, the color was a pure, snowy white. It looked like it was made out of marble. James sighed impatiently while they all stared at the castle. He finally ended up dragging them to see all of the other things in the yard. James then took them on a small tour of the castle, which barely covered any of it, and decided that it was time to call it a night.

"Well then, we should just get home…" said Molly, but Lily cut her off.

"Why don't you all stay the night? We have plenty of room here if you want," said Lily quickly. In the end, it was decided that they would stay over a different day, and Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Harry were soon left on the entrance hall alone. Harry sighed. He was dreadfully tired after all he had been through today, and couldn't wait to go to sleep. Lily yawned widely, and James grinned.

"I'll show you guys to your rooms," he said. "Sirius, Remus, you know where your rooms are, right?"

"Yeah," said Sirius and Remus at the same time. They smiled at each other. They all followed James to a long hallway in which they could see doors lining it. They went all the way to the end of this corridor and stopped.

"This is mine and Lily's room," he said, pointing to the farthest door down. "Then this one will be Harry's room, then these will be Sirius's and Remus's rooms," Sirius smirked when Harry went into his room.

"3…2…1," he said as Harry burst back out of his room. James looked surprised.

"What?"

"It's huge!" said Harry. "It's big enough to be someone's whole house!" It was, because it had a sitting room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. All it needed was a kitchen and then it would be complete. James frowned.

"Why would that bother you?" he asked.

"Cause Harry's a modest guy. Too modest if you ask me," said Sirius.

"Well, what did you think I would do, lock you in a cupboard?" asked James. Harry seemed to pale a little bit and Remus stifled a sigh. Remus had learned a while back that the Dursleys had made Harry live in a cupboard, but Sirius, Lily and James didn't know that.

"Okay, well, good night," said Harry quickly at James' look. He turned to go back into his room, but James grabbed his shoulder.

"Why were you so unsettled about that comment?" asked James.

"No reason. I'm tired, I want to go to bed,"

"Not till you tell me what was wrong with saying that," Remus sighed again. James turned to him. "You know why?" he asked in a slightly accusing tone.

"Well, yeah… but I'm not going to tell you. Harry should tell you," said Remus stubbornly. James sighed and turned back to Harry. Harry was now extremely pale and was shaking slightly.

"Okay then, if you don't tell us then we'll shove veristaserum down your throat," threatened James.

"It's nothing, really," said Harry. Remus snorted.

"Like that could be nothing," snapped Remus.

"What is it?" asked James frustratedly.

"Harry if you don't tell them then I will," warned Remus.

"Erm, you can tell them but I don't want to be here when they find out," said Harry. Remus narrowed is eyes.

"What happened to Gryffinddor courage?"

"It ran away," answered Harry as he attempted to go back into his room. James wouldn't let him though. He pulled Harry back.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" asked James in a calm voice that hinted danger if he didn't get answers now. Harry sighed and looked away.

"Um… well… erm…" stuttered Harry. Remus sighed again. He couldn't take this anymore.

"What Harry is trying to say is that the Dursleys locked him in a cupboard for the first ten years of his life. That was his room until his Hogwarts letter came, and then he was moved into the smallest bedroom," said Remus. A shocked silence followed before James snapped.

"WHAT?" He shouted and began to pace furiously. He began to mutter to himself angrily.

"I knew that Petunia didn't like me, but I _died._ I would have thought that she could have gotten over her damn jealousy and help a child!" Sirius had joined James in pacing and was muttering to himself too. James clapped his hands together.

"Well, we'll have to go and pay them a nice little **_visit_**, won't we, Padfoot, Flower, Moony?" asked James through clenched teeth. Sirius nodded fastly and began to mutter even more. Remus looked disapproving, but no one was paying him any attention. Lily looked like she could murder someone.

"Yes, I think that my _dear_ sister could use a little visit," said Lily. Harry turned to go back into his room.

"Remind me never to get you guys angry," he muttered as he attempted to escape to bed. The attempt failed, however. James grabbed his shoulder again.

"You're going to tell us everything that happened there, even if it takes all night," growled James. All Harry could do was gulp and nod.

* * *

By the time that Harry was done telling them what had happened there, James was fuming. How dare they put bars on his son's window? It was taking all his self-control not to storm privet drive right now and kill the lot of them. Sirius was in even worse shape then him because he had more of a temper than him. Remus hadn't known some of the stuff that those muggles had done to him, so he was in a towering temper also. But the one that they were scared of most was Lily. She was looking murderous, and all of them were getting out of her way. No one, not even James, had seen her act like this. No wonder Voldemort wanted to get rid of all the Potters and not just Harry, it was times like these that reminded him how much powerful Lily was. 

Harry was sitting on the bed, wisely sitting out of the way of everyone. Harry was really pale, and it wasn't surprising seeing as they had made sure they had gotten everything they could out of Harry about the Dursleys. Harry's snake was curled around his feet hissing angrily and Harry was hissing back, they seemed to be having a heated discussion. From what James gathered, Ice could understand English even if he couldn't talk it. James watched as Ice slithered up Harry's leg, still hissing angrily. Harry just shook his head and got up.

"I'm going to bed," he said tiredly. James watched Harry go with narrowed eyes. He never thought that the Dursleys treated Harry like a prince, but he never thought that they would lock him in a cupboard! As soon as Harry was out of the room James turned to the other three in the room.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" asked James. "I think that a little payback is necessary,"

* * *

Petunia Dursley hummed to herself while she cleaned the dishes. There were a lot of them; she had to admit that Dudley's diet had not worked out at all, even if he was now a boxing champion. She let her thoughts wander and found herself thinking about that boy. The son of her sister, Lily Evans. Or, Lily Potter now. She sighed. She had always been a little jealous of her sister to get the letter and not herself. She felt that she was every bit as magical as Lily at the time and complained about it for weeks. In the end she decided that Lily didn't deserve to go to that school and decided that she was a freak. The last thing she remembered saying to Lily was that she never wanted to see her again at their parent's funeral. And she never was going to see her again either. At that moment the doorbell rang. 

Petunia frowned. She looked at the clock, which read 11:00, and wondered who could be calling this late. The boy had already been taken away, and none of their kind should be here, so why would someone call this late? Dudley had come home a few hours ago and he and Vernon were in the living room watching TV. She heard the television turn off as Vernon went to the front door to answer the knock that was now rapping on the door nonstop. She stuck her head out of the kitchen and saw that Dudley was watching the door with interest too. So that means that Dudley didn't know who it was.

Vernon opened the door and out on the doorstep stood four figures in long black cloaks. Petunia gave a shriek and let the plate that she was holding fall to the ground. It shattered on impact. Vernon made to close the door, but the figures forced the door open.

"Why, Petunia, Vernon, you would almost think that you didn't want to see us," said an oddly familiar voice. The last time that she had heard that voice was when he was comforted Lily at their parent's funeral. But it couldn't be, they were dead!

"Who are you?" asked Vernon rudely.

"Manners, Dursley," growled another male voice. He flipped back his hood and there, right in their hallway, stood the murderer Sirius Black! Petunia gave another shriek and began backing up slowly. The next figure, one that hadn't spoken yet, pulled down his hood also and said, "We were just speaking with Harry. Interesting stories he's told us about you,"

"What's that brat been telling you?" snarled Vernon. Petunia knew that this was a bad move. She had met these people before and she knew that they didn't take insults kindly, even if it wasn't aimed at them. But to her surprise, it wasn't Sirius Black who did anything, it was one of the figures that hadn't pulled down his hood, but had spoken. In a flash he had his wand out and it was pointed straight at Vernon's throat. His hood fell off slowly, revealing messy black hair and hazel eyes.

"But… but… you're dead," stammered Petunia, looking at James Potter's face. Finally, the last figure spoke up.

"You really didn't think that we would stay dead, now did you?" asked the figure. Petunia's blood ran cold at that voice. She would recognize it anywhere. Lily Potter pulled down her hood. "It has been a while, hasn't it, sister dear?" Petunia was vaguely aware of Vernon shouting something, but the next thing that she knew she had blacked out.

* * *

Lily watched as Petunia fainted. Vernon began yelling. "HOW DARE YOU FREAKS JUST WALK RIGHT IN AS IF YOU OWN THE PLACE! I COMMAND YOU LEAVE AT ONCE!" he roared. 

"Oh no, Dursley," said Sirius softly. "We have fifteen years of hell to pay back from Harry," Vernon was sweating. Dudley was backing up against the wall in the living room.

"Don't worry, we won't kill you… but I can't guarantee that we won't hurt you," said Lily. Vernon whimpered. Lily pointed her wand towards Petunia. "Ennervate," she muttered and Petunia gave a moan and then shot up into a sitting position. She stared at Lily with wide eyes. Sirius, James, Remus, and Lily exchanged glances. This would be a very interesting night.

* * *

Dudley Dursley was scared out of his wits. Those four freaks that had entered their house had decided to bring them to their house so that they could be 'safe', as they thought that privet drive wasn't as safe as it could be. They were to live with these people until they found a safe house for them. It was scary, because that man, Sirius Black, had said that they were going to sort out a few issues, in the mast painful way possible. 

Suddenly Dudley felt as though he was being squeezed through a tube and then suddenly they were at the edge of a large forest. They could see in the distance a huge castle, and Dudley gaped at it.

"That's where we're going to stay," said the man with messy black hair. Dudley stared at it.

"You mean you own a castle?" asked Dudley.

"Of course. I'm one of the most richest wizards around," said the man. Dudley gaped at him, and then back up to the castle. One of the men, the one with the gray hair, spoke up suddenly.

"Hey, I just thought, will Harry be happy with these guys in the house?"

"Castle," corrected Lily quietly.

"I dunno. It gives him a chance to terrorize them," said the messy haired one.

"Who are you?" asked Dudley. They all turned to look at him with exasperated looks on their faces.

"You really don't know who we are?" asked the woman.

"No one told me," snapped Dudley.

"Right. I'm James Potter, this is Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and my wife, Lily Potter. Then there is our son, Harry Potter, but unfortunately he isn't here right now," Dudley suddenly realized what was wrong with them, and why his parents had reacted so weirdly with them.

"You're supposed to be dead!" exclaimed Dudley, pointing at the wizards.

"Thanks for noticing," snapped Sirius. "Now, shut up,"

"But you're supposed to be dead," said Dudley again, this time more quietly.

"Well, James and Lily are supposed to be dead. But in the end we found a way to bring them back. Even if it won't work for other people, we brought them back with it," said Remus.

"Can we go now?" whined James. Everyone began to move forward (or was dragged forward if you were one of the Dursleys) towards the castle. It took a few hours, and by the time they had finally gotten to the castle, the sun was beginning to come up.

"What are we going to tell Harry when we arrive with the people that he least wants to see right now?" asked Remus. James stopped and began to think that one over.

"Aw, you have to go and ruin all the fun, don't you Moony?" snapped Sirius.

"No, I'm just pointing out some facts. Anyway, it must look really weird to see some people just dragging three people to a castle,"

"That's why we came at night so no one would see us," said James. They went into the castle and came into an entrance hall. Harry appeared in one of the doorways in the room.

"What did you guys do?" he asked as soon as he saw the Dursleys. Remus coughed while Lily seemed to remain perfectly normal and James and Sirius looked at each other.

"Why, we're following Dumbledore's orders of course. He told us that privet drive isn't very safe anymore, so we thought that it would be better if they stay here for a while," said Lily.

"I'm hungry," announced James. "Binky! Dinky!" the two house elves appeared.

"What can we do for you, sir?"

"Can you please make some breakfast and show our guests to their… rooms," said James. By the way they said it you could tell that wherever they were going it was most certainly not a room. The two house elves bowed and disappeared again. After a few seconds one of them pooped back up and began to lead the Dursleys away through one of the doorways.

* * *

Harry watched as the Dursleys were led through a doorway and out of sight. Then he turned back to his parents, godfather, and the man he considered an uncle. "What are you guys going to do with them?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Why Harry, you would almost think that you didn't trust us," said James, feigning a hurt look. Harry gave a loud cough that sounded like 'yeah'.

"Anyways, I'm hungry. Let's go eat!" said Sirius as he bounded off towards the dining hall. Lily just shook her head sadly as James followed after Sirius just as excitedly. Ice slithered between Harry's feet.

/_What am I going to eat/_ asked Ice.

_/What did you have before you came here/ _asked Harry, wondering what Ice's breed of snake eats.

/_Well, I, being the breed that I am, usually eats something along the lines of a large animal, like a cat or a dog/ _hissed Ice. Harry began to feel a little bit sick as he realized that Ice could have eaten someone's pet before. /_Or course, the owner of that shop never fed me what I was supposed to eat. He always gave me a few large rats to eat, which were very bad tasting, by the way/_ Ice added.

/_So what should I feed you/_ asked Harry. He really had no clue what to have Ice eat, and he wasn't close to figuring it out either.

_/I could still eat rats, but you're going to have to make them taste better/ _said Ice. Harry nodded. They went into the dining room where Lily, James, Sirius and Remus already sat eating.

"What took you so long?" asked Remus.

"I was talking to Ice. I didn't know what he eats, but he decided that he would eat rats if we could make them taste better than they are," answered Harry. At once Sirius looked disgusted, having remembered the time when he had to live off rats.

"I feel for you," Sirius said to Ice.

_/I know. Aren't the rats horrible? If we could just make them taste better, I wouldn't complain, but…Master, tell him what I just said/ _Ice hissed. Harry quickly related the message to Sirius who nodded sympathetically. James stared at them for a few moments, and then went back to his meal, having no clue whatsoever about what they were talking about. Lily sighed.

"I still can't believe that you had to be on the run from the ministry the whole time that we were dead, Sirius," she said. Sirius nodded.

"Well, I wasn't on the run the whole time, I was in Azkaban most of the time that you were dead," Sirius replied. Remus winced, still having not quite gotten over the fact that he didn't believe that Sirius was innocent. Sirius, who saw Remus wince, said, "Don't worry Moony, I don't blame you. All the evidence pointed to me, and seeing as how reckless I was… am… I suppose that it would make more sense for me to be the spy than anyone else at the time,"

"That's not true!" protested Remus when he heard Sirius' last statement. Sirius sighed.

"It was pretty true Moony, but I should have realized that it was Peter the whole time. How could I have not noticed all of the absences and all of the nervousness around him? Or, more nervousness than usual," said Sirius.

"You can't blame yourself for our deaths! If we had just thought to use Dumbledore…" started James.

"Yeah, but you thought that I was right! It was my idea, so in the end it all comes back to me…" interrupted Sirius.

"It doesn't all come back to you, it all comes back to Voldemort. Stop beating yourself up over something you didn't mean to do," snapped Harry, getting tired of all of the arguing. Remus instantly took this opening.

"Right, it all comes back to Voldemort, because he was the ones who killed you, and anyways, he probably would have found some way to kill you anyway," said Remus.

"Wow, I just love your optimism," said Sirius sarcastically. Remus threw a piece of toast at Sirius, who didn't see it coming, resulting in it hitting him right on the forehead. Which resulted in a food fight. Which resulted in everyone coming out of the dining hall covered in food and drinks. Which was how the Weasleys found them when they flooed over to their house right when they walked out of the hall. Which resulted in the Weasleys laughing at them. Hard. Harry sighed. They were never going to let them live this down.

After a nice afternoon with the Weasleys they decided to have a game of quidditch on their quidditch pitch. On one team were Fred, Harry, Ron, Arthur, and Bill, and on the other team were James, George, Remus, Sirius, and Charlie. The seekers were Harry and James, the beaters were Fred and George, the keepers were Ron and Remus, and the chasers were Arthur, Sirius, Bill, and Charlie. After what seemed to be a fierce battle rather than a game of quidditch, Harry was able to catch the snitch before James, resulting in winning the game 230 to 80. On the way back to the castle, James told them stories about the games they had when they were at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, James had been a chaser, though he had been a very good seeker, and Sirius had been a beater. Remus hadn't been on the team, and neither had Lily. In return Harry and the others told them about a few of their better games, including Harry's first game where he almost swallowed the snitch.

By the time that the Weasleys had finally left for the night, Harry, James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily, were all tired, even if they all protested they weren't when Lily sent them to their rooms.

Harry collapsed onto his bed when he got into his room. The bed was so comfortable, and he really didn't think that he needed to change into his pajamas…

_/Master/ _Ice hissed from beside his bed. Harry looked up groggily.

_/Ugh… what do you want/ _asked Harry sleepily.

_/I think that you should start your training/ _announced Ice.

_/What training/_

_/The training were you train to defend yourself/_ answered Ice. Harry stared at his snake for a moment, then rolled over onto his other side and ignored the him. Ice hissed angrily.

_/Master, I cannot save you every time from danger; you need to do a few things yourself. While your wand magic is okay, I guess, your physical training is really lacking_/

_/You mean to tell me that I have to work out/ _asked Harry .

/_Of course you do. You need to be able to run around during the battle, and you need physical endurance, and in case you lose your wand you can always go upon physical means/ _hissed Ice. /_The list goes on and on for the usefulness of physical training, and we should patch up your magic training as well. Of course, you'll need to be able to do things wandlessly, silently and-/_

_/Wait, I have to do things wandlessly! That's a really rare gift though! The only people that I know of who can do wandless magic is Dumbledore and Voldemort/_

_/That's only because you humans don't know how to train properly/ _snapped Ice.

_/But, I heard that wandless magic was extremely difficult to do/_

_/That's because you don't have a proper trainer! If you have a good trainer, you can master it like every other art of magic/_

_/I know that silent magic isn't rare, but it isn't common either/_

_/Once again, if you don't have a proper trainer then you can't have the proper learning experience/_

_/But how will you train me/_

_/Well, I can only really instruct you how to do it, seeing as I can't show you how, seeing as I don't have any hands/_

_/How do you know how to do this stuff anyway/_

_/…/_

_/Can't answer that can you/_

_/…I have my ways/ _Harry smirked at the snake. /_Well, seeing as it's very late, we'll call it a night. But I expect you to be up early tomorrow so we can start your training. We'll start with warming up, and then a few exercises to get you started. We'll be training in the morning and at the night. Get used to it. Goodnight/ _and with that Ice slithered away. Harry sighed and rolled over. It would be a long summer.

* * *

A/N: Please forgive all of the spelling and grammar mistakes, I'm doing this late at night and am about to fall asleep at the computer. Please review! 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Harry Potter, not even a little detail.

A/N: Well, here's another chapter! I'm quite happy with myself, I've been able to get these chapters out every two weeks at least, even if I haven't updated my other stories in about a month. Oh well, I will when I find time.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents By**

**AutumnBreeze12 **

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_/Wake up, master/_ Harry groaned and rolled over. Ice was watching him from the edge of his bed, waiting for him to get up. 

/_Ugh, go back to sleep/_ hissed Harry sleepily. When Ice heard him say this, however, he slithered farther into the bed and under Harry's covers. Ice began to slowly bite Harry's leg, and Harry jerked his leg away from the snake. _/What are you doing/_ hissed Harry angrily.

_/Making you get off your lazy rear and get out of bed/ _answered Ice.

/_Five more minutes/_ Harry asked hopefully. Ice gave Harry a look from under his covers that suggested that if he didn't get up now, he would regret it later. /_I'm up, I'm up/ _snapped Harry, getting out of bed. Harry glanced out of the window and then did a double take. _/Ice, it's still dark out/ _Harry said.

/_I know. But I want to get you training, and we still need to be bonded, and there are a million things that we need to do. Which is why you should get moving to that bathroom before I make you go/ _snarled Ice. Harry sighed and began to walk groggily to the bathroom. About twenty minutes later he was standing back in his bedroom with Ice watching him carefully. /_Master, you really need to learn how to take a five-minute shower. We could have been halfway done with the bonding if you had taken one/_

_/It's too early for this. I'm going back to bed/_

_/You'll stay here unless you want to get bitten again/_

_/Fine then. What do we need to do to get bonded/_

_/Okay then. First, we need a little bit of each other's blood/_

_/Why? And what are we going to do with it/_

_/Must you have a question for every statement? This will only take a few minutes, so don't worry about that. We just need to drink a little bit of each others blood and then say a few words in Latin/_

_/We're going to drink each other's blood/_

_/Didn't I just say that/_

_/Well, people usually don't drink blood/_

_/Which is why it's considered a bonding ritual. Now, stop complaining and hold still/ _said Ice as he came forward. Ice carefully bit Harry's leg so it drew out a little blood. /_Now, cut me with something and drink a little of my blood/ _Harry took a small knife from his trunk and gave Ice a little cut on his body. Harry licked a little of his blood up, then felt a strange sensation. It felt as though he was falling down from a great height and couldn't stop. Ice hissed something else, and told Harry to recite what he had just said, except it had to be in English. Harry did so, and the feeling intensified, then after a moment, stopped. Harry stared at Ice who looked completely unfazed with all of this.

/_Was that the bonding/_ Harry asked.

_/Yes. Now we'll now when the other is in trouble and what they are feeling. We can also do other stuff with this, stuff that I can't be bothered to remember right now. Anyway, even I don't know all of the properties of the bonding, but I do know that no wards or anything can keep us apart/_

_/So you can come with me wherever I go/_

_/That's pretty much what I said. Do you have to repeat everything that you hear/_

_/So, can I go back to bed now/_

_/No. We're going to start training. Do you know anything about swords/ _At Harry's blank look Ice sighed. _/Okay then. Have you ever used a sword? _

_/Erm, yeah, once/_

_/Okay then, what were you doing/_

_/Killing a basilisk/_

_/Do I want to know why you were doing this/_

_/No/_

_/Okay then. Have you any experience in wandless or wordless magic/_

_/A little bit, but those were by accident/_

_/This will take longer than I thought/_

After a couple of hours of being lectured on how to do things like hold and swing a sword, Harry began to get it (he was using a stick as practice). Harry sighed and glanced at his watch, which he had replaced from his time in the lake at his second task. It was now 9:00, and Harry thought that the others should be up by now. Harry was still tired, but when Ice bit him hard when he fell asleep during one of his lectures and left him bleeding he had woken up quickly.

When he entered the dining hall he saw that Lily was up. "Hello mum," said Harry as he sat down next to her. Lily smiled down at her son.

"Hello Harry. I didn't think that you would be up this early,"

"Neither did I. Ice decided that it would be best for me to get up early rather than late and wouldn't let me go back to sleep,"

"He did? And why was that?" Lily asked conversationally. Harry hesitated. He had already decided not to tell his parents or anyone about his training, they would just worry about him and decide that it might be too dangerous or something without a human instructor.

"Well, he thought that I was being lazy and that I should be up at five," said Harry truthfully.

"Did he now?" asked Lily amusedly. Harry's snake seemed interesting by the way Harry talked about him.

"Yeah. He thinks that humans need to work harder and, I quote, 'are lazy bums who do nothing all day except sitting around on their-,"

"Hello. What are you two doing up?" asked Remus as he came into the room. Lily smiled at him.

"Well, I always get up this early, and Harry was forced up by his snake. Ice, it seems, is an early riser," said Lily.

"Really? I never knew that you _could_ get up this early, Harry," said Remus.

"Neither did I. I attempted to fall back to sleep, but with a few well-placed bites Ice was able to rouse me," said Harry. "What are we having for breakfast?"

"I don't know. Why don't we call the house elves? Binky, Dinky, please come here," said Lily. The house elves appeared instantly by Lily's side.

"What do you need, mistress Lily?" asked Dinky.

"First off, we need breakfast. Second, please just call me Lily. It makes me feel old when someone calls mistress," said Lily, smiling at the elves. The elves nodded and disappeared at once.

"So, what are we doing today?" asked Harry.

"Well, we weren't planning on doing anything, so I thought that we could get started on your summer homework," said Lily cheerfully. Harry stared at her.

"Are you mad? I do my homework at the last minute! I usually just copy off Ron," said Harry.

"Yeah, and that's why your grades are horrible. I asked Professor McGonagall to show me your grades, and I was surprised that you were even passing your years! Defense against the dark arts were fine, but the rest of your classes your very bad. Mainly potions," said Lily sternly.

"It's the potions teacher that makes me bad at it," snapped Harry.

"That isn't the point. No child of mine will get bad grades while I'm alive," declared Lily.

"See! Since you weren't alive when I got those grades, you can't tell me off!" said Harry quickly. Lily gave a laugh at this statement.

"Well, now that I'm alive and well again, I expect your grades to pick up. I want nothing short of acceptable on all of your O.W.L.s and in your classes I want to see your best performance," said Lily in a business like tone.

"When am I going to have time or all of this?" asked Harry. "I mean, with quidditch, and then I have to go to the classes, and I have to eat, and sleep, when am I going to have time to get all of that done?" asked Harry.

"You'll find some time," said Lily dismissively. "Anyway, you will do your homework today and I'm going to help you,"

"But… that's not fair!" said Harry desperately. Remus chuckled.

"Parents don't have to be fair, Harry," said Remus. Harry glared at Remus. "Hey, don't blame me, you were the one who wanted them back!"

"You wanted them back too!"

"Ah, yes, but they aren't my parents,"

"Anyways, who's going to wake up Sirius and James?" asked Lily, quickly changing the subject. Harry and Remus both looked at her. "Oh no, I am not doing it," said Lily, seeing their looks.

"Wait, this castle is protected by wards that make the ministry not able to sense underage magic, right?" asked Harry. Lily and Remus both nodded. Harry smirked evilly. "I think that I'll wake them up," he said as he got up from the table. Harry walked down to Sirius' room first. When he entered he found Sirius snoring very loudly and drooling everywhere. Harry smiled and pulled out his wand. He sent a burst of ice-cold water down on Sirius. Sirius gave a yelp and jumped out of bed. He looked around then spotted Harry laughing.

"Oh, your going to pay for that one," said Sirius menacingly, advancing on Harry.

"But I haven't woken up my dad yet," said Harry innocently. "Don't you think that you should take your revenge on me when we wake up my dad?" Sirius stopped for a moment, then thought about it, and an equally evil smile flittered across his face.

"Ah, yes. We should wake up Prongsie," said Sirius, already walking to the door.

"Um, Sirius, do you think you should get dressed first? I mean, wouldn't it kind of be embarrassing to walk around in your boxers around the house?" asked Harry. Sirius gave another yelp and ran to the bathroom. After Sirius had successfully put his pants on, him and Harry went towards James' room.

They gathered around James's bed and Sirius charmed around the bed to be a freezing cold pond, but so where James couldn't see it until he stepped into it. Then both he and Harry went and dumped a bucket of water on James, making him wake up with a start.

"What's going on? Why did you- wait, did you just pour water on me?" he asked the Sirius and Harry who were rolling around on the floor with laughter.

"Maybe," said Harry, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Haha, very funny," said James while throwing off his covers and climbing out of bed.

**SPLASH**.

A new wave of laughter overcame Sirius and Harry as James walked right into the small pond that they had placed around his bed. James quickly swam to the now visible edge of the pond and got out of it.

"So," he said, glaring at Harry and Sirius, who were still on the floor with laughter. "You thought that this is funny, huh?"

"Yes," said Sirius and Harry at the same time. James glare intensified, then he began to laugh too.

"Okay then, but I'm warning you, I will get you two back," said James.

"Hey James, why don't we band together to get Harry, seeing as I owe him one as he poured ice cold water over my head to wake me up this morning, even though it was nothing near as priceless as this was," said Sirius, gesturing towards the pond. James cracked and evil smile.

"Why not?" he said, looking at Harry, who had stopped laughing by now.

"No fair!" said Harry. "You can't gang up on me!"

"But isn't that what you did with Sirius here when you went to wake me up?" asked James.

"Fine, but I'll have the Weasley twins, Ron, and some other people on my side when it comes to this war," said Harry threateningly. James and Sirius exchanged a glance.

"No one can beat the Marauders," stated James.

"Right. Just keep telling yourself that," said Harry. James scowled at him.

"Is that food I smell?" asked Sirius suddenly. Both he and James bolted out of the door to where the food was, and James was only in his boxers and Sirius didn't have a shirt on. Harry smirked when he heard Lily's shrieks when they entered the dining hall.

* * *

James, when fully clothed, sat down at the dining table and began to eat his breakfast. Or inhale his breakfast. He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye. The boy ate his food quickly, yet didn't inhale it, and he had table manners too, instead of putting his elbows on the table or reaching over someone's plate for the ketchup. Lily was going on about how Harry's grades had to improve and that she would help him with his homework. One could tell that Harry was not looking forward to studying. 

"Why don't we practice some quidditch after we're done with breakfast?" asked James, completely ignoring the fact that that was when Lily wanted to help Harry with his homework. Harry looked at James thankfully while Lily glared at him.

"Haven't you been listening? We're going to do homework after we're done," snapped Lily.

"But that's when we're going to do quidditch," said James innocently. Sirius snickered behind his toast and Remus' mouth twitched.

"I like quidditch," said Harry quickly.

"Then it's settled," said James. "We're going to do quidditch as soon as we're done," Lily's glare at James seemed to intensify.

"Fine, but when you're done then we're going to help Harry with his homework. _All of us are_," snarled Lily, and James and the others nodded weakly. They finished up their breakfast quickly and went down to the quidditch pitch. After a few hours of practicing, they decided that Lily would kill them if they practiced anymore, so they decided to go in. The other three adults looked at Harry sympathetically as he was dragged away by Lily.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked James to the other two. They all shrugged and watched as Lily attempted to explain something to Harry, who looked at her like she was speaking a different language.

"Hey, remember that time when we charmed Snivellus to have bunny ears?" asked Sirius suddenly. The other two nodded while laughing. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Lily try to teach Harry stuff and remembering moments about when they were in school.

* * *

Harry was tired after the tutoring that his mom had made him go through. He collapsed onto his bed. The only good thing that had come out of this was that now all of his homework was done. And by the looks of it, it was all done correctly. Hermione would be insanely jealous to hear some of the things that Lily said, but Harry couldn't care less. 

_/Master, it's time for your training/ _said Ice. Harry turned to look at his snake, rubbing his eyes.

_/Can this wait until tomorrow? My brain feels like it's about to burst/ _

_/No, then we'll never get anything done/_

_/Please/_

_/No. Now, I'm going to test you on what you learned last night/ _Harry groaned. This was going to be another long night. After about an hour of being tested, Ice decided that he need to know more history on wordless magic, (they had decide that they would concentrate on wordless magic in the night and wandless magic in the morning) and that they need to train more because Harry wasn't going to have enough time to practice in the morning and the nights. So Ice decided that they would go to sleep later and wake up earlier.

By the time Harry was allowed to sleep, it was around one in the morning. Ice promised to wake him up at five tomorrow, so try to get peaceful sleep. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't been able to get peaceful sleep in a while.

He was in a graveyard again. Voldemort was there, and so was Cedric. Harry watched as Voldemort killed Cedric. Then his parents, godfather, and Remus appeared, along with all of the Weasleys and Hermione. They, too, were killed by Voldemort. All the time that they were getting killed they were calling out that it was his entire fault, that he didn't deserve happiness…

"Harry! Harry, wake up!" someone shouted. Harry found himself slowly being shook awake by the white face of his father, his mother, Remus, and Sirius right behind him. Harry suddenly realized that he was sweating and that he was shaking.

"Are you alright?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Harry quickly.

"Another nightmare?" asked Sirus quietly. Harry nodded.

"What do you mean, another nightmare? Does this happen often?" asked James quickly. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his bed.

"Yeah, Harry sometimes has visions of what Voldemort is doing, or he has nightmares about… other things," said Sirius. It was true, he had been having nightmares lately about the graveyard, and sometimes he saw into Voldemort's mind as he was at a death eaters meeting. Harry couldn't remember much of the details of that vision, but it had only happened twice, and Harry hadn't thought them of much importance until he told his godfather, who told him that it wasn't natural for him to be having these dreams.

"You mean that he had these all the time?" asked Lily, horrified that her son would have to go through something like this often. Harry nodded glumly. He hadn't really wanted his parents to know about the nightmares, that would just make them even more worried about him then they already were.

"Don't worry, they're just nightmares," said Harry quickly.

"Except for the visions that Voldemort sends you," said Sirius.

"Yeah. Other than that they're just nightmares. But, um, you might want to cast a charm around my bed so you won't have to hear me screaming all night," Harry added. At this his parents really did look worried, so Harry tried to calm them down. "Don't worry, I just might scream at a part of the dream, but it's nothing _too_ serious," said Harry.

"Of course not, I'm Sirius," said Sirius happily. Everyone groaned at the overused pun.

"Padfoot, that grew old in first year," said James.

"No, the serious/Sirius jokes never grow old," said Sirius.

"Well, why don't we get back to bed," said Remus. Sirius nodded his agreement and the two Marauders left, leaving Harry with his parents. They stared at him for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell us that you have nightmares?" asked Lily softly.

"Well, I forgot most of the time, and when I did remember it really didn't seem important," said Harry.

"Not important!" said James. "What have you been dreaming about that makes you scream like someone's torturing you? It isn't ordinary to have nightmares every night, you know,"

"I don't have nightmares every night, just often," snapped Harry. "Anyway, how was I supposed to bring it up? 'Oh yeah, mom, dad, I have nightmares every night that make me scream. Pass the butter please',"

"Well you still could have told us," snapped Lily. James sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"What have you been dreaming about?" asked James. Harry shifted uncomfortably again on his bed.

"Just stuff," said Harry, avoiding their eyes. "Nothing important. Just nightmares,"

"Yeah. Right," James said, glaring at his son. "I doubt that these are 'just nightmares',"

"They are," Harry protested weakly. Lily and James both stared at him with their eyebrows raised. "Well, maybe they are a little more than nightmares, but nothing to get worried over,"

"What are they about?" asked James again. Harry sighed.

"The graveyard," said Harry. That was all Lily and James needed to hear to understand what Harry had been dreaming about. Lily gave a dry sob and hugged Harry. Harry, still not used to people hugging him, hugged her awkwardly back.

"Why don't we get some sleep? We can discuss this in the morning when it isn't 2:00 a.m." suggested James. He cast a silencing charm around Harry's bed. "I'm putting up a silencing charm, but if a nightmare is really bad don't hesitate to come to us, okay Harry?"

"Yeah, I will,"

"Okay then, goodnight," said James. Both he and Lily then exited his room. Harry slumped back down onto his pillow. He fell back to sleep instantly, but still had a dream filled sleep.

* * *

The next morning Lily got up and began to get dressed. It was 9:00, and that was when she always got up. She had always remembered either waking up at nine or earlier, but never later, even when they did stay up late. Lily frowned when she remembered the events of last night. It pained her that Harry didn't tell them that he was having nightmares, but it pained her even more to see that Harry was bottling up all his emotions on the inside. She knew that that wasn't healthy, and she knew that it would come out sometime or another. It also hurt to see how little Harry seemed to think of himself. It was always 'don't worry, I'm fine' or 'It's okay, I'll be alright'. He never said 'Please help me' or 'I'm hurt'. 

Lily sighed as she made her way to the dining hall. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Harry already sitting there.

"What are you doing here so early?" asked Lily.

"Stupid snake," was all that Harry said.

"You mean he still got you up after all that happened last night?" asked Lily.

"Yeah. Stupid, mean snake," muttered Harry. Lily gave a short laugh. It looked like with Ice on the job she wouldn't have to wake Harry up. Though, now that she looked at him, she wished that Ice hadn't woken him up, he looked really bad. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he was about ready to fall asleep at the table. As it was, he was dozing off every few seconds, just to wake with a start.

Remus came in and glanced at Harry concernedly. It was obvious that Remus thought that Harry should still be in bed after what had happened last night. Lily thought that too, but one thing that she had learned about Harry was that he could be incredibly stubborn. After an hour James and Sirius stumbled in and also looked at Harry concernedly. They ate their meal in silence and Lily decided that even if Harry was having nightmares he should still be treated like a normal kid, so she decided that he would have to get a tutoring lesson from her again today. Lily dragged Harry off right after breakfast and began to quiz him on potions. Harry got most of them wrong, and she spent most of the day with him, trying to get him to understand potions better.

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A/N: So how was it? Please review! PLEASE REVIEW! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I don't see why you even have to ask.

A/N: Hello! Since I don't really have too much to say, I'll just answer some questions. One of my reveiwers asked me if snakes could really snarl. To tell you the truth, I didn't really noticed that I had put that there when I wrote the chapter. Ice is a really rare breed of snakes, they were thought to be extinct actually, and the store owner didn't realize that he could have made a fortune off of it. So, in their own unique way, that breed can snarl. Another reviewer asked what was happening with the Dursleys. They were being relocated to a new home, seeing as Privet Drive wasn't really safe anymore. As they all hate the Dursleys for what they did to Harry, they decided to keep them at the Manor until they could find a completely safe place for them. They won't appear very often in the story, maybe they'll appear once or twice. They're doing a whole ton of chores around the Manor, and they all live in one small cupboard that they can barely fit into. And as I am pretty much a new writer on here, I apologize if I miss a few details in my story.

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**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 8**

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Harry sighed and flopped down onto his bed. Lily had really ran him ragged with potions, he was sure that he would never forget what she had taught him. He was tired, but that was because Ice, his snake, insisted on training at night and in the morning, leaving him with only a few hours of sleep. His birthday was only a few days away and he would be fifteen years old. Harry sighed and rolled over on his bed. There just seemed to be so much going on, with his parents coming back to life, and the constant threat of Voldemort hanging over their heads, then there was Ice and all of that other stuff. 

"Harry, breakfast's ready," called Lily. Harry grunted in response and got up from the bed. He made his way down to the dining hall and found that Sirius and James were already there. Lily was off getting Remus. Harry sat down and glanced at the paper that Sirius was reading. When Sirius saw him looking at it, however, he hid it quickly from sight. Harry sighed, that was a sure sign that meant that it was something about him that he wouldn't like.

"Accio paper," said Harry, pointing his wand at Sirius. Sirius tried to hang onto the paper, but it slipped out of his grasp. Harry looked at the headline and found himself to angry to speak.

**False Alarm!**

**By: Rita Skeeter**

_In light of new events, the minister of magic had officially declared the death eater attack on Diagon Alley a false alarm. The minister of magic states, "While there were death eaters in Diagon Alley, it was most obviously a false alarm. They barely stayed for a half hour, and Lord thingy was nowhere in Diagon Alley at the time. We think that it was just like the quidditch world cup and just meant to scare us, contrary to what Albus Dumbledore is saying,"_

Harry was seething when he read this. How dare they even think that it was a false alarm! Harry was so angry that he took his wand and lit the paper on fire.

"Hey! I was reading that!" protested Sirius. Harry glared at Sirius. Harry pushed the ashes at him.

"That… _thing_ doesn't deserve to be read," snarled Harry. Sirius sighed.

"I agree with you… but it's still good to know what the people are saying about us," said Sirius. "I read the paper when I got out all the time,"

"Speak for yourself," snapped Harry. The article was just going to prove more troubles for Dumbledore and the others. Harry began to load his plate with food. The paper had put him in an extremely bad mood.

Harry sighed and headed up to his room right after he was done eating his breakfast. He didn't want to stay around long enough for Lily to start testing him again. It was getting really annoying. He thought that he knew half of the fifth year course by now, even more than Hermione, if that was possible.

As Harry walked into the entrance hall he saw Dudley on his knees washing the floor. Harry stared at him for a moment, and then realized what he was seeing. Harry decided that it would be best just to ignore the Dursleys right now because he didn't want his mother's wrath upon him instead. Harry made his way up to his room and laid down on the bed. He was beginning to fall asleep when he heard Lily's call of, "Harry, the Weasleys are here!" Harry got up and went back down to the entrance hall, where Ron, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, and Bill were.

"We need to go to Grimauld place," said Lily to Harry. Harry looked at her quizzically.

"Where?" he asked.

"To Sirius's old house. We're going to an order meeting," said James. Harry still had no clue what they were talking about.

"What's the order?" he questioned.

"The Order of the Phoenix," said Lily. "It's an anti-Voldemort association that fights him and his death eaters," Harry still didn't quite understand it, but nodded anyway. There would be time for questions later.

"Now, we're going to have to leave you guys here all alone. I expect you to act like responsible adults," said Molly. "Bill will be here to watch over you just in case anything happens, and don't hesitate to call us if there is a problem,"

"Right, we got it mum," said Ron.

"Oh, and be sure not to make a mess of things," continued Molly.

"We got it. You can go now," said Fred.

"Be careful! Don't take any unnecessary risks!"

"How many risks will there be around here?" asked Bill.

"I don't know, but you always have a knack of finding trouble," said Molly. "We'll be back before you know it! Don't worry about us,"

"Oh yeah, and I give you permission to throw a wild party while we're gone, but be sure to get all of the people out of here before we come back," said James. Lily smacked him on the back of his head. They adults flooed out, leaving them all alone. The rest of the night was spent doing small things like playing quidditch. When the adults finally came back, they found them still out on the quidditch pitch.

"So Harry, the day after tomorrow's your birthday," said Lily while they walked inside.

"Yeah…" said Harry suspiciously. Lily gave him a smile.

"I was just making sure," she said.

"Um, okay…" said Harry unsurely. He was beginning to think that they had something planned. They all began to talk really loudly after that and acted as though Lily had said nothing, which made Harry all the more suspicious. They went inside and the Weasleys decided that it was time for them to be getting home, so they left by the fireplace. Harry, Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius all sat down in one of the cozier rooms that looked like the Gryffindor common room. They spent a couple of hours chatting about nothing in particular until Lily decided that it was time to go to bed. Which means, she decided that everyone has to go to bed now or else there would be no quidditch for the rest of the summer.

Harry entered his room and looked around for Ice. The snake slithered out from under Harry's bed. Harry glanced at Ice questioningly. /_What were you doing under my bed/_ Harry asked Ice. Ice seemed to glare at him.

/_I've been sleeping under your bed for a while now; you've just been too ignorant to notice. And before you ask the reason for why I like the underneath of your bed, I decided that it was the best place for me because I like it. So don't say anything/ _snapped Ice. Harry nodded reluctantly.

/_So, what are we going to be doing tonight/_ asked Harry. He hoped that it wasn't anything too hard; he was having enough trouble staying awake right now as it was, and he was standing up!

_/I've decided that we need to start your physical training more/ _declared Ice. _/We really need to start concentrating on your sword practice more, we've been neglecting it lately/_

_/I don't have a sword though/_

_/I noticed/_

_/But how am I going to sword train if I don't have a sword/_

_/We'll figure something out, but for now we'll just have to use that stick/_

_/I once used the sword of Gryffindor/_

_/Am I supposed to be impressed/_

_/No! I just thought that you would want to know that/_

_/Well, the sword of Gryffindor is a weak sword in my eyes/_

_/Weak! It's one of the strongest swords there are/_

_/Well, that just shows you how lazy you humans have become/_

_/Okay then, what sword would you recommend/_

_/Sword of Merlin/_

_/The sword of Merlin! But no one has seen that sword in years! People aren't sure if it even exists anymore/_

_/I've done my research, and I've concluded that the sword currently rests in your vault at Gringotts/_

_/How the bloody hell did it get there/_

_/Go clean out your mouth right now, I won't tolerate swearing here/_

_/Right. Sorry. Anyway, how did it come to be in my vault/_

_/How should I know? I'm just a snake/_

_/Well, how did you find out it was there/_

_/…/_

_/Can't answer that one, can you/_

_/I have my ways. Now, back to the sword. It has a few magical properties, like the fact that it has a cleaning charm on it so the blood instantly comes off, and a sharpening spell that keeps it sharp, and a few others. This sword will prove extremely useful when we get it/_

_/How am I going to get it? It's in Diagon Alley at Gringotts/_

_/Simple. Steal the key to your vault and go to Gringotts/_

_/WHAT/_

_/Ow, no need to yell and wake up the whole place. Yes, it's as simple as doing that. The goblins don't mind if you come in late, so the hard part will be getting out of here and getting the key/_

_/I thought that my vault didn't need a key, when I looked at it the vault looked like it didn't need one/_

_/Oh, it doesn't, but you need a key for verification/_

_/Oh, so where is this key/_

_/Somewhere in your parents room. Go fetch/_

_/I'm not a dog/_

_/I beg to differ. Now, all you need to do is sneak in there and get the key/_

_/What if they catch me/_

_/Good luck/_

_/Dumb snake/_

_/You do realize that you said that in parselmouth/_

_/Whoops/_

_/Now, all you need to do is go into the room, find the key, and come back here/_

_/It isn't that simple/_

_/Yeah it is. When you get into their room just summon the stupid thing/_

_/Fine/_ Harry got up from his position on the bad where he had been talking to Ice. No matter what Ice said, this was going to be dangerous, and he didn't want to be the one to explain to Lily what he was doing in their room at one in the morning.

Harry slowly crept up to their door. He stood outside and listened for a moment, then decided that they were asleep. He slowly went inside. His parents slow, deep breathing showed that they were asleep, and Harry whispered, "Accio Gringotts key,"

Their was a small rattling sound after he said this, and he realized that they most likely had it locked up somewhere in their room. Harry mentally cursed himself for being so stupid, but then a small something speed into his hand. He stared at the Gringotts key in his hand, hardly daring to believe it. He glanced back at his parents, and then decided that they were really asleep, then left the room. After he left, Lily sat up in her bed groggily.

"Harry?"

* * *

_/Did you get it/_

_/Yeah, I was able to summon it/_

_/Good. I wasn't sure if that would work/_

_/Then why did you tell me to do that/_

_/Well, for one it seemed like a good idea, and two, sometimes it's fun to see you get yelled at by your mother. Interesting woman, she is/_

_/Wow. Thanks/_

_/No problem. Now all you need to do is floo out of here and to Diagon Alley and we can get that sword/ _After Ice said this, Harry began to get dressed, not wanting to go into Diagon Alley in his pajamas. After he was done with that, he got up slowly and went downstairs to the entrance hall. He threw a little bit of powder on the almost non-existent flame and whispered "Diagon Alley,"

* * *

Lily was furious. She had woken up to Harry leaving her room silently, then when she finally had woken herself up enough, had gone to check on him. What she didn't expect to find was an empty bed. She had called one if the house elves to find where Harry was, and the house elf replied that she had seen Harry floo out of the mansion, but wasn't sure where because he had said it so quietly. So Lily did the first thing she could think of, which was wake up James. 

"James! Get up now before I hex you!" screeched Lily, throwing pillows at James to wake him up. James turned over tiredly.

"It's one thirty in the morning, Lily, go back to sleep,"

"Harry's gone!" Lily screamed at him. Sirius and Remus came in at that point, hearing Lily's screams at James to get up.

"What's happened?" asked Remus urgently.

"I really don't know. I was asleep when I heard someone leaving our room. I get up to find what looked like Harry leaving. When I had finally woken myself up properly and went to check on him, he wasn't there. So, naturally, I went to the nearest house elf and asked her to find my son. And do you know what the house elf said!" said Lily.

"What did the house elf say?" said James.

"The bloody thing told me that Harry had flooed out of the house, but he couldn't hear where he went because he said it so quietly!"

"You mean he went somewhere at one thirty in the morning?" asked Sirius. "Is he mad?"

"Well, obviously. But now we have to go and find where he went!" said Lily. She began to pace around the room. "I can't believe he just left," she muttered.

"Why don't we wait for him to come back?" asked Sirius. "He'll come back eventually, and we can wait for him at the fireplace," Lily agreed grudgingly. They went down to the entrance hall, and then did something that everyone hated, they waited.

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Harry walked along the almost deserted streets of Diagon Alley. It was different then how it was in the day, there weren't all those shadows that looked like death eaters, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to come at him, and there were always people bustling around to get their shopping done, unlike here, where there were only one or two people here other than himself. He entered Gringotts, which in the day looked snowy-white, but at nighttime almost looked to be black. 

Inside Gringotts, it looked just like it did during the day. The goblins were all going around doing various tasks, and the only thing that was different was that there were barely any wizards here. Harry went up to a goblin and asked politely, "Excuse me, can I please go to the Potter family vault?" The goblin asked for the key, which Harry gave, and the goblin lead him to the carts, where they had a long ride to the vault.

Harry went into the second door in the family vault, where all of the objects were. He began to look around, ignoring the fact that he had no clue where to start and that the vault was miles long. Thankfully, Ice had come with him.

/_It's somewhere over here/_ The snake said as he began to slither off towards the far end of the vault. Harry hurried to catch up with Ice and soon found himself facing an imposing glass case. There seemed to be warning signs all over the case in Latin, but Harry ignored them and began to reach toward the magnificent sword behind it.

/_Stop, you idiot/ _Ice hissed. Harry stopped and turned to look at Ice.

_/What/ _asked Harry.

_/There are enchantments all over the case. Hold on, it seems to be a riddle/_ said Ice as he began to circle the case. Ice seemed to concentrate hard on the case while leaving Harry clueless to what was going on. /_I've got it! Place both your hands on the case/ _said Ice. Harry quickly did as instructed. _/Now say the words, 'yield, case that holds thy sword of Merlin. Let me take this holy sword and do good with it's power'/_ Harry felt very stupid, but said these words. The case began to glow for a few seconds, and then the case disappeared completely.

/_Thank goodness. I thought for sure that you wouldn't get it/ _

_/Why would you think that/_

_/Because only someone with pure intensions can get through that case all the way/_

_/Okay…/ _said Harry. He reached his hand out and grasped the sword. Instantly, immense power spread throughout his body. The feeling was so good, it felt like he could take on Voldemort right now and win. Harry examined the sword for a few moments. It had Latin and runes written all over the handle part, while the blade seemed to glow with light and power.

/_The runes and language written on there says something about courage and light. I don't really know, right now I'm too tired to think about it. Why don't we go back now? You have to wake up early to do training/_

_/Can't you let me sleep in this once/_

_/No. Now, think in your head really hard that you want the sword to shrink/_ Harry did this, and to his surprise the sword began to shrink. Harry quickly pocketed it, not wanting anyone to see it. Harry walked out of the back and quickly back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry flooed back to Potter Manor. As soon as he got out of the fireplace, he came face to face with an extremely angry Lily Potter, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. Harry chuckled nervously.

"Erm, hello?" he said.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" screamed Lily. Harry winced and began to slowly back up while Lily began to advance forward. She screamed herself hoarse, in which James took over, and believe me, when James Potter gets mad everyone wants to take cover. He was even worse than Lily, if possible, and that really was saying something. As it was, James nearly never gets mad, but when he does no one wants to be in the same room as him when he did.

After being yelled at for nearly four hours, they all went into the dining hall and sat down at the table.

"Explain," said James coldly. Harry winced at his tone. It had taken all the strength he had not to cry when his parents had yelled at him, which was saying something, as he never cried.

"I went to a… place," said Harry lamely. In all that time he still hadn't thought up a good excuse. He wasn't going to tell him about the sword, it would be suicide if he did.

"A place," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," said Harry sheepishly.

"That's all you can think of as an excuse?" said Remus.

"Erm… yeah,"

"So, you went out at one thirty in the morning to go to a place? Wow, we really didn't guess that," snapped Lily. Harry noted absently that it was now five thirty in the morning.

"Well… yeah," said Harry. It was sounding really stupid to his ears, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. His mind was racing, but he couldn't seem to think of an excuse.

"Where did you go?" asked James.

"To… a place," said Harry. James's eyes fluttered closed briefly, as if he was trying to control his temper.

"We've established that fact. Now, where is this place?" said James.

"Erm, somewhere?" said Harry sheepishly. He knew that this was getting him into more trouble, but he couldn't tell them or else they would get even madder.

"Harry, if you don't tell us where you went then we're going to use veritaserum on you," snarled Lily.

"You have veritaserum here?" asked Harry, hoping to change the subject.

"That isn't the point. Where did you go?"

"I… can't tell you," said Harry. He cowered under Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus's glares that had intensified.

"Why not?" said Lily, the tone she was using suggesting that she was about to blow up at him again.

"Because… I just can't. I'm really, really sorry for worrying you, but you'll understand when the time comes," said Harry.

"Fine then," said Lily. "No quidditch for the rest of vacation,"

"What? But there's still a month left!"

"I don't care! And while you're at it, you can clean with the house elves for the rest of summer!"

"But mum! You can't do that!"

"Just watch me," snarled Lily.

"For the rest of the summer?" said Harry unhappily.

"Why don't you make it just for two weeks that he has to clean, Lily? Not including his birthday, of course," said Remus. Lily glared at Remus.

"Fine then. You only have to work with the house elves for two weeks, but the quidditch ban stays. And I guess that all punishments will be lifted for a day on your birthday," snapped Lily. Harry felt his temper flaring now that they weren't yelling anymore.

"Great. Next thing you know I'll be in a cupboard," snarled Harry he stood up and made to leave the room. James jumped up from the table.

"Sit down this instant!" James roared. Harry paused, then slowly turned back to the table and sat down again. Harry kept glaring at the table instead of looking up at his parents and his parent's friends. Sirius and Remus exchanged a look with each other and left this matter solely to Lily and James. "Look at us," James said to Harry. Harry slowly lifted his head, but didn't meet their eyes, instead looked around the dining hall as if he had never seen the far wall. "I said look at US," snapped James.

Harry finally met their eyes. They seemed to sit there forever, just looking at each other, before Harry looked away again. James sighed. "Harry, you know that we wouldn't do anything like that, right?" asked James. Harry nodded, looking every bit like a sullen teenager.

"We really want you to be happy, but you can't just go off in the middle of the night without warning us," said Lily. Harry nodded again. Lily sighed. They had really gotten Harry to open up to them, but now it seemed that he closed himself off again. "Just, tell us before you do something like that, okay?" asked Lily. Harry nodded for the third time.

"You can go now," said James. Harry stood up and began to walk to the door, but Lily saw something drop from his pocket. While Harry left and headed towards his room, Lily picked up the Gringotts key.

"What was he doing with this?" Lily asked herself. She sighed. They were in for a rough summer.

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A/N: Well, that's the eighth chapter. I'm not good at punishment or battle scenes, so I'm really sorry if it was corny or badly written. Anyway, please, please, PLEASE, review! 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; if I did I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

A/N: Well, here's another chapter! Like I said, I'm really sorry if the scene where Harry gets punished is bad, but it was all I could think of. Sorry. Don't worry though, Harry and his parents will make up in this chapter, I'm pretty sure of it. Also, I would like to thank everyone who reveiwed. I will continue on using for parseltongue, and I'm sorry if that interrupts the flow of the story.

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**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 9 **

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James turned in his bed again. He was really tired from the events of that night, but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He kept wondering if punishing Harry was the right thing to do, and if the punishment was too hard.

"Go to sleep, James," Lily whispered next to him. James gave a small start.

"Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, you did. Stop turning around in bed,"

"I can't help it! What if we were too hard on him? What if he hates us now? What if-,"

"James, you sound like me when I worry," said Lily. James instantly shut up when she said that. "Don't worry, it's not like he's going to hate us for this, he'll understand what we're doing. Though, I kind of think that I really didn't need to ban quidditch from him for that long, I'm not going to revoke his punishment. Just stop worrying, it'll be alright," Lily said in a soothing voice. James nodded unhappily, still worried about what Harry thought of them.

"I just don't know Lily. What if he really does hate us?"

"Well, if he does he'll get over it in time. Now, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"You do realize that it's 10:00 right now?" asked James.

"What!" Lily said as she jumped out of bed and began to bustle around the room. James watched her with an amused expression on his face. Some things never change.

* * *

Lily quickly walked out of her room and towards the dining hall. She hadn't realized that it was that late! She walked into the dining hall, expecting to find it empty, or have Remus there, but she found neither one.

"Harry, what are you doing up?" she asked him. Harry, who had been resting his head on the table, looked up when she entered.

"Stupid, stupid snake," muttered Harry, putting his head down on the table again.

"You mean Ice is still waking you up?" asked Lily sympathetically.

"Yeah. He says he's being easy on me and that I should wake up at five," answered Harry. Lily sighed.

"Um, Harry, you do realize that I really am sorry that I have to punish you and stuff, right?" asked Lily nervously.

"Yeah. It's not like I really care about the cleaning stuff, the thing that I'm more concerned about the quidditch ban," answered Harry.

"Ugh, boys and their quidditch," huffed Lily. Harry just gave a small shrug, not moving his head from its place on the table. Lily began to eat breakfast and wondered where everyone else was. "Where's James and the others?" asked Lily.

"I dunno, I'm not the one who's married to him," said Harry. Lily scowled at him. Lily got up and began to search for the other three boys. She found Remus in his room getting ready for breakfast, Sirius still asleep in his room, (Lily quickly remedied that) and James also asleep. Lily stared at her sleeping husband for a moment before decided to try what Harry did before.

"Erm, Prongs! Get up, McGonagall is going to catch us if you don't get up!" she shrieked in his ear. James gave a small jump and rolled off the bed, right onto the floor, where he hit his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" asked James, rubbing his head.

"You wouldn't get up," said Lily simply. James glared at her. "It's time for breakfast, or lunch now. Get ready for the day instead of sleeping,"

"I like sleeping," snapped James.

"Yeah, well your son even got up before me!" said Lily.

"But, that would mean that he barely even slept five hours!" said James, astonished.

"I know. It's been looking like he hasn't been sleeping long lately. Harry says that Ice has been waking him up, but I really don't know," said Lily. James nodded and got up from his position on the floor. Lily walked out of the door and began to go back to the dining hall. She entered it and found that Remus and Sirius were both situated around the table. They both seemed to be avoiding looking at Harry, who looked to be asleep. Lily sat down and realized that Harry was awake when James came in because Harry opened up one eye and glanced at him.

James glanced at his son, concern flitting across his face for a second. Ice seemed to choose that moment to slither onto the table. Ice hissed at Harry and nudged him for a moment. Harry waved his hand at Ice, looking like he was trying to get him to go away. This seemed to make Ice mad, and Ice bit Harry on the nose. Harry sat up, rubbing his nose and glaring at Ice. Harry gave a hiss and Ice slithered back down to the floor.

"What was that all about?" asked James curiously, watching Harry.

"It's nothing," said Harry. He began to rest his head again on the table, but winced and sat up again. "Stupid, idiotic snake," Harry said, more to himself than to the rest of the table. Lily glanced at James who looked back at her, both seemingly thinking the same thing, that Harry really needed some sleep without Ice waking him up.

"So, what are we going to do today?" asked Sirius casually. Lily pondered this question for a moment before answering.

"I think that we should do something, like go to Diagon Alley again," she said thoughtfully.

"I don't think so, Voldemort really wants to kill us, so if we waltz right into Diagon Alley then that would prove a good excuse for them to attack Diagon Alley," said Remus. The rest of them nodded, all except for Harry, who looked like he was talking to Ice again. Harry stood up and muttered something about house elves before leaving.

"That's right, I forgot that he's going to clean with the house elves," Remus said, more to himself than to the others. Lily sighed and put her head in her hands.

"You guys are making me feel guilty for doing that!" she snarled. Sirius just shrugged.

"Well, it was kinda harsh. I mean, we snuck out all the time with a werewolf and we didn't have to clean the whole castle for two weeks, and with no quidditch for the rest of vacation," said Sirius. Lily scowled at him.

"It's not harsh, it's what he deserves for sneaking out! And he won't have to clean the whole house, just do what the house elves do," said Lily. Sirius stared at her for a moment before responding.

"Sorry, Lily, I forgot that you were a muggle born. When a house elf cleans, they clean all day, and by the time that the two weeks are up he'll at least cleaned the Manor a couple of times," said Sirius. "They clean all day and for most of the night, so he'll get only a couple of hours of sleep too," he added as an afterthought. Lily gaped at him for a moment.

"I didn't know that!" she said unhappily.

"We kind of figured," remarked Sirius lightly. Lily jumped up and began to head for the door.

"I can't let him do that!" Lily said as she left the dining hall. She began to look around, but after a few minutes she realized that she had no clue where the house elves where. "James!" said Lily as she went back into the dining room. "Where are the kitchens?"

"I was wondering when you would realize that you don't know where they were. The thing that mystifies me is how Harry knew where to go," said James.

"That isn't the point, just tell me how to get there!" snapped Lily. James smirked at her and got up from the table. He went out the door. Lily followed him through hallways and corridors, some all bare and some full of armor or portraits. James eventually stopped at one of the doors and waited for Lily to catch her breath from walking up all the stairs. After she had composed herself, they went through the door.

The sight there shocked Lily, it was not the fact that these kitchens seemed to be quite a few times bigger than the Hogwarts one, or that it was very clean, but the fact that quite a few of the elves had gathered around Harry, who looked like he was telling them a story. Lily glanced at James, who was looking at the elves in amazement.

"Never before have I seen them so captivated with a story like that. It has to be a good one," commented James. Lily glared at him.

"Focus on the task at hand and not what the house elves are doing. Harry, can we see you a minute?" Lily called to Harry. Harry's head snapped up and he blushed a little, not having heard them come in and being caught in the act of not doing his punishment. He got up, promised the elves that he would be back to tell them the rest of the story, and made his way over to where Lily and James stood.

"Harry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that house elves had to do so much work, so you won't have to do this punishment, but there's still no quidditch," said Lily apologetically. Harry nodded, and then started to go back to the house elves. When he saw Lily and James's confused looks, he simply stated that he had promised to tell the rest of the story to the house elves.

* * *

James watched in amusement as Lily attempted to try and teach Harry some advanced charms, which wasn't working very well. She kept throwing James filthy looks at his lack of help, which just made James laugh harder. It was always amusing to watch Lily. Sirius and Remus were with him, also snickering about Lily and how lost Harry looked. They would have played quidditch, but since Harry had been banned, Lily had decided that Harry needed more tutoring than Harry could keep up with. Which let Harry completely lost and everyone else other than Lily completely laughing. I mean, Lily was trying to teach him seventh year work when he hadn't even started his fifth year! It was not surprising when Harry tried to sneak away multiple times, even though he never succeeding, except that completely hilarious time when Harry called out, "Look, it's a golden phoenix!" and pointed to the ceiling where Lily was teaching him potions, and when Lily looked around eagerly, and saw that he was lying, she turned back to find him gone. Lily probably won't ever hear the end of that.

Though, the way Harry was acting, James was beginning to wonder if he would ever concentrate on his work like he really should. With the pace that they were progressing at, one would think that Harry wasn't powerful at all, but James knew he was, he could tell by his aura. In fact, James wondered where he had found out about a golden phoenix, as they were rare and barely ever even heard of. While the red-gold phoenixes were rare, the golden ones were supposed to be so rare that they died off a long time ago. There were red phoenixes, the most common, then red-gold, then the golden.

James couldn't help but watch Harry closely. Some people might think that Harry was an ordinary guy, just a bit more modest than he should be, but that would mean that they didn't look hard enough. James could see that he was hiding his emotions behind a mask, and that he was hiding something, but James didn't know what it could be.

Then there was the problem of what to do when it came time for Harry to go to school. James wanted to be close to Harry, and he knew that Lily did too, but he didn't know how that would happen. Fortunately, Dumbledore seemed to know right when to come in.

"Hello, I'm very sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I need to see you four," said Dumbledore, a mad twinkle in his eyes. Sirius and Remus shared a perplexed look, but went with James and Lily to follow Dumbledore. When they were out of earshot of Harry, Dumbledore said, "Now, I have a few positions for you guys. Lily, I'm out of a charms teacher. Professor Flitwick is having family problems and won't be returning to us. Will you fill up the post?"

"Of course I will!" exclaimed Lily.

"Good, very good. Now, Hagrid still hasn't gotten back from his mission from… well, you know where. So Remus, I'm going to ask you to fill in the care of magical creatures class until Hagrid gets back, and when Hagrid does get back I think that he'll need an assistant. Will you take that job?" asked Dumbledore. Remus nodded enthusiastically. "Okay then, you two. I was wondering, do you two still have your aurors licenses?"

"Yeah, I think so," said James confusedly.

"Good, I was thinking that Hogwarts may just need a bit more security, so see if you can pull that off," said Dumbledore. James and Sirius nodded happily. This was even better than teaching! They all agreed to keep it from Harry, because they wanted to surprise him.

James and the others went back to where Harry was, and he looked at him questioningly. They just smiled at him and Lily resumed trying to teach Harry potions. While James was watching Harry try to attempt what Lily was telling him to do, he had a sudden idea.

"Hey, Harry, do you want to try to become an animagus?" asked James. Harry looked up excitably while Lily looked livid.

"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous! Especially with you teaching him!" snarled Lily.

"Yeah, I want to, when can we start?" asked Harry, completely ignoring Lily and her protests.

"I can start teaching you right now," said James, getting just as worked up as Harry was.

"I said no! Not only is it dangerous _and_ illegal, but with you teaching him, there are bound to be accidents!" snapped Lily.

"It won't just be me teaching him, there will be Sirius and Remus there too," said James. "Anyway, it doesn't matter if it's dangerous, we did it while we were in school too,"

"I don't care! It's still too dangerous, he could get hurt!" said Lily.

"I want to do it!" said Harry desperately.

"Don't worry Harry, we'll do it," said Sirius while glaring at Lily. Lily glared back.

"You could get hurt!" said Lily.

"I could also get hurt slaying a basilisk, but I did that didn't I?" muttered Harry.

"That doesn't matter! This time we can control if you get hurt or not!"

"Yeah, but it might be better if I can transform into an animal, it might help me escape if I get trapped somewhere!" argued Harry.

"But… but… oh fine, but if your head gets chopped off for trying this, don't blame me," said Lily.

"Good. When can we start?" asked Harry.

"Right now," said Sirius.

"No, I'm teaching him potions right now," said Lily.

"But that can wait, can't it?" asked Harry desperately.

"Fine! Don't listen to me!" said Lily angrily.

"Right. Now, there is a potion that you have to take to see what kind of animal that you can transform into, and I think that we have some of it left around here from our time," said James. "I think that there might be some in the experiment room, on the… fifth floor, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that was where we would go when we needed to make a potion," said Remus. James, Sirius, Harry, and Remus all left a very angry Lily to fume by herself.

* * *

They walked up two flights of stairs before they came to the experiment room. The experiment room was all white, the floor, the wall, the ceiling, were all painted white. There were desks that were overflowing with papers and a few desks with nothing on it at all. It was a big room, and there were empty of vials of potions, and there were full vials, and a whole ton of other things around the room. It was very impressive, enough to leave Harry speechless. James chuckled at Harry's astonished look.

"The potion should be around here somewhere," said Sirius as he began to poke around in a few boxes that were at the corner of the room. Remus went over to one of the desks and gazed fondly at the papers spread out upon it.

"These were a few of the prototypes of the Marauders map," said Remus, picking one of the pieces up and looking at it with happiness.

"Ah, yes, those were the days," said Sirius, walking over to Remus and looking over his shoulder at the failed experiment of the map.

"You two sound like a couple of old people reminiscing of their life," snorted James. Sirius glared at him.

"Are you saying that I'm old?" Sirius asked, feigning mock hurt.

"Yep. You're about 35 now, aren't you? While I'm still twenty," said James proudly.

"Well, that was a fluke," snapped Sirius.

"Hey, at least I'm not an old wrinkly man," said James smoothly. "Now, where is that potion?" he murmured, starting to search around. Harry began to look in some of the boxes too, even though he didn't know what to look for.

"Found it!" said Sirius proudly, holding up a vial full of what looked like black liquid with white swirls in it.

"Now, Harry, all you need to do is drink the potion. You'll be in a trace-like state for a couple of hours and your animal will simply come to you," said Remus.

"Ah, yes, I remember when we took the potion. It took me two hours to have the dog come to me," said Sirius. "Though it was better than James, it took him a full four hours before the stag came to him,"

"Well, At least I didn't take two whole days like Peter's did," snapped James. While the two Marauders continued to argue about useless, stupid things, Remus handed Harry the potion.

"Good luck," Remus said, smiling at him. Harry gave a nervous nod and drank the potion in one quick gulp. The effect was instant, Harry felt himself falling into what felt like a deep, deep sleep except for the fact that it seemed to be a black with swirling white around him instead of black. Harry wasn't sure how long he waited, but a form slowly took shape in front of him.

It was a lion. It was a very majestic lion; it was graceful as it sat in front of Harry. It was a pure golden color; the coat of fur seemed to glisten. Harry could see a lightening shaped scar on the lion's forehead, though it was barley noticeable because it blended in with the fur, it was just a few shades lighter than the rest of the color. After Harry memorized every detail about the lion, the lion started to change forms. Vaguely Harry began to wonder what was happening. It took on another animal form.

This form was a purely black hawk. It's feather's seemed to be messy like Harry's hair, and Harry saw that there was a gray lightening bolt on it's head. It wasn't a big bird, but it wasn't small either. It was about the size of Hedwig, and looked to have wings slightly longer than the owl's one. Then the form began to change again. This time Harry was beginning to feel alarmed, he didn't know anyone who had two forms, let alone three!

This time it was a ferret. This instantly made Harry think of Draco Malfoy, but he put off thoughts about him. The ferret was black, like the hawk, except that it's nose, paws and ears were silver tipped. There was a small silver mark in the form of a lightening bolt on the forehead of it, but it was barely noticeable. It was an average sized ferret, but it looked to be a bit more graceful. Again, the form started changing.

What was next made Harry gape in complete astonishment. Never before had he heard of anyone being a dragon before. He had never heard of this breed either. It was a dragon that looked to be about forty feet tall and had icy blue scales. He had to crane his neck to see the top of the dragon, but he saw that it had a pure white scar, also barely noticeable. It had wings on it, a darker blue than all the rest of the body. It had two white spikes on the end of the tail and it leaned its head back and breathed icy blue flames, the same color as its scales, about forty feet in the air. It was an amazing sight. The form began to change again, and something in Harry told him that this would be the last time.

A Golden Phoenix. Never before had Harry seen one, but here it was. Like the name stated, it was a pure golden color, even more golden than the lion form. There didn't seem to be a scar on this one, but Harry saw that once he looked forward he saw that faintly there were outlines of a scar in lighter gold. The phoenix seemed to glow with light; it was the most beautiful thing that Harry had ever seen. It looked like Fawkes, except for the fact that it was golden and light seemed to pour off it. Harry studied the form for a few more minutes before everything began to fade. After a few seconds of fading, Harry found himself looking up at up his father, mother, Sirius and Remus. They were all looking down upon him excitedly.

"Well? What was it?" asked James impatiently. Harry hesitated for a moment.

"A hawk," he answered. He decided not to tell them about the other forms yet, a dragon and a phoenix alone were rare, and with those two together with three more was simply amazing and unbelievable. He knew that when his parents found out about his other forms that they would freak out about them not telling him, but he wasn't really lying about the hawk form.

"A hawk? Awesome, you can fly!" said Sirius happily. "Now Lily can't stop you from flying!"

"Well, we should get started tomorrow on it," said James happily. Harry felt guilty for not telling them the other forms, but the less that knew about them the better.

"How long was I in the trance?" asked Harry. At this James frowned.

"Erm, about five hours," said James. Harry gaped at him.

"Five hours? But it didn't seem like that long!"

"It never does when you're in trances," said Lily. "I don't know what these idiots were thinking, giving you the potion right before your birthday, what if you had stayed in your trance straight through it?" she said angrily. The three marauders gave Lily nervous smiles.

"Sorry, love, we weren't thinking 'bout that," said Jams sheepishly. Lily glared at him.

"Well, now it's time to go get some sleep," said Lily. Harry glanced at his watch and gave a small start; it was already 11:00! Harry got up from his position on the floor and went to his room. Ice came out of the shadows right away.

/_Where were you/ _Ice hissed. _/I couldn't find you anywhere/_

_/I took a potion that told me my animagus form. I have five forms, a lion, a hawk, a ferret, a dragon, and a golden phoenix/_

_/Very good, it looks like you are powerful. Today we'll skip the training part. Today we're going to go to the library and look up things on animagus/_ Harry nodded at this and left his room. He went to the library, where he had been with Lily a few times to study, and began to search around for a few animagus books. After about twenty minutes of hard searching he had found three books on animagus.

Harry began to read. As he read he found out a few facts about some past animagus. The book that Harry was reading told him that nearly nobody had more than one form, and if you had two you were a very powerful wizard. The most anyone had ever had was four, and that was Merlin. The last recorded record of someone having multiple forms was Godric Gryffindor, and he had three forms, a lion, a tiger, and a leopard. Salazar Slytherin also had three forms, a snake like Ice, a basilisk, and a cobra. Then Rowena Ravenclaw had two forms, a raven and an eagle. Then Helga Hufflepuff had two forms, which were two different types of badger.

Harry sat at the table he was working at in the library, completely stunned. By what the book says, he was going to be more powerful than Merlin! After a little more reading, Harry went to bed at one in the morning.

* * *

A/N: Whew, another chapter out! I have to say that I had fun doing Harry's animagus forms. Anyways, please review! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Nope, never owned it, never will.

* * *

A/N: My tenth chapter! Harry will be going to Hogwarts soon, so don't worry about that. I've been happy about the steady schedule I've been keeping for this story, I update about every two weeks, so you should expect me to try and stay by that. Anyway, to the story part!

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Harry groaned as Ice woke him up. He had been having a good dream, too.

_/Get up, you lazy child/_ hissed Ice irritably. Harry scowled at the snake.

_/It's my birthday, can't you go easy on me/_ asked Harry unhappily.

_/I am going easy on you. I woke you up an hour later than I should. Now, up/ _Harry groaned again and got up out of bed. He began to do the exercises that Ice set him. There were a lot of them, but he was getting used to the schedule. The warm ups were always hard, seeing as Ice made him do 500 push ups, 500 sit ups, 500 jumping jacks and he had to sneak out of the house and go down to the lake to jog a few times around it. It always made his muscles very sore afterwards, and half the time he didn't even have enough time to do the rest of his training.

After all of his warm ups and swinging Merlin's sword around the room (destroying a lot of it in the process) Harry went down to the dining hall. It was decorated in red and gold colors and had signs like 'Happy Birthday' around it. It looked quite nice, and Harry couldn't help but feel pleased that it was for him. Lily looked up at Harry when he entered. It was a little later than he usually got up, so Lily looked slightly surprised.

"Did Ice let you sleep in?" asked Lily.

"Yeah. Even though he called me a lazy child in the process," said Harry. He sat down tiredly. No matter how late he slept in he still had that permanently tired feeling around him. He couldn't shake it, but maybe that was because of all the stuff that had been happening lately. Harry hoped so.

James, Remus, and Sirius bounded into the room at that moment. They all looked really happy and hyper, so Harry braced himself.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the three marauders shouted at the same time. Harry and Lily winced at the noise. Sirius jumped on Harry and began happily shouting something about cupcakes. Remus smiled and congratulated Harry on turning fifteen. James began bouncing up and down and shouting about cupcakes, cakes, Weasleys, and birthdays. All in all, no one could hear a thing that they said anymore.

Harry tried to pry Sirius off of him, but failed in the attempt. Suddenly all three marauders were silenced and they all cracked evil grins that Harry didn't like. Harry tried to get Sirius off him again, but Sirius gripped tighter.

"Now Harry, it is a Potter family tradition to have each member, when it's their birthday, get the appropriate amount of 'birthday spankings'," said James evilly.

"You see, since you're fifteen now, you'll get fifteen spanks," said Sirius.

"Yeah, I remember when I came over to James's eighteenth birthday party, which was a small group of friends, and 'accidentally' James's father had forgotten to give him the spankings, so he gave them in front of everyone, which included me, Sirius, Remus, the rat, my parents, and a few of my friends. You should have seen it, it was so hilarious!" said Lily. By this time Harry was trying to get out of Sirius's grasp and out of the room, but Sirius held firm.

"I still think that I have the pictures," said Remus. James glared at him.

"You still kept those pictures! I thought that I told everyone to dispose of them!"

"Just because you told us to doesn't mean we do," said Sirius. "Another tradition is to take photos of it and keep them forever, regardless of what the person in them says,"

"No way, let me go," said Harry desperately. Lily took out a camera from her pocket and smiled at Harry sweetly.

"Now why would we do that?" she asked, smiling. James came over to where Harry was sitting and sat down, taking Harry out of Sirius's grip and holding him firmly down on his lap. Harry struggled as hard as he could, but it was useless.

"Say cheese," said Lily, taking pictures. Remus and Sirius were both beside themselves with laughter.

"Why Harry, I never knew that you could go that red," said Remus.

"Ah, yes, you should wear that look more some time," said Sirius. Harry glared at them. When James finally finished, Harry got up, trying to look as dignified as he could, but failed miserably. Everyone but Harry was laughing so hard that they had been reduced to tears. Harry tried to get the camera from Lily, but Lily quickly hid it from Harry.

"I'm sure that everyone will want to see these when we go to Grimwauld place today," said Lily, smirking an evil smirk.

"No! You can't give them to Fred and George! They would never let me live it down!" wailed Harry.

"Good to know that we have blackmail on you then," said James cheerfully. "Anyways, we should go to Grimwauld place soon. You do want to see everyone else on your birthday, right?" asked James.

"Yeah, of course!" said Harry quickly. "As long as you don't show them the pictures, I want to go," They all got up and quickly flooed out of Potter Manor. When they arrived at Grimauld place it was unusually quiet for having the Weasleys living in it for the summer. Harry and the others went into the kitchen, and when no one was found there, which Harry noticed that Sirius, Remus, Lily, and James didn't look surprised, they went into a different room, which Harry absently registered that it must be a sitting room. All at once, about all the Weasleys and a good part of the order jumped out and cried, "SURPRISE!"

Harry wasn't really expecting a party, so he nearly fell over in shock. A lot of people laughed at the astonished look on Harry's face and the surprise party started to take place. After regaining his composure, Harry laughed it off with the others and began to chat with Ginny, not noticing the look Lily and James passed when they saw him conversing with her.

Lily went over to one of the tables that had been set up for the occasion. She tried to take a drink of the punch, but instantly spit it back out and marched over to James with an angry expression on her face. "What did you put in it?" she snarled at him. James feigned an innocent look.

"What do you mean? I don't remember putting anything in the punch," James said. Lily glared at him.

"It tastes like alcohol," snapped Lily. "I know you did this because you did this at one of our dances too,"

"Ah, yeah, I remember that, but I really never want to see Dumbledore drunk again. That was just plain scary, you would think that after how long he's lived he would have been able to hold it better," said James.

"Well, get the alcohol out of the drinks! There are children around!"

"So? I got drunk once when I was seven years old, even though that was an accident," At that point, Sirius came over and tried to help James with defending the punch, even though it wasn't really working. Finally Lily gave up and warned him that if anyone gets drunk and makes a mess, they would have to clean it up.

Harry walked over to where Ron and Hermione were. Hermione looked disapproving that the bowl was filled with alcohol instead of punch, but she wasn't saying anything. Ron was happy that he got to drink so early on in life, so he consumed large amounts of it. Hermione got up and walked away, hoping to persuade James and Sirius to get that stuff out of there. After a few moments, Harry was glad that Hermione had left because Ron started getting really drunk and began to babble on about her.

Harry looked around desperately for someone to help him. The closest person was Ginny, Fred, and George. "Hey, Fred, George, Ginny, can you help me here? Ron's drunk," called Harry so where only they would hear him. They walked over to where Harry was supporting Ron and smirked.

"Ahhhhh, Ickle-Ronniekins got drunk!" said Fred. They watched Ron for a few seconds, before realizing that he was saying some _inappropriate _things about Hermoine.

"Should we just knock him out?" asked Ginny, looking slightly sick about the things that Ron was describing.

"I'm all for that," said George. At that point, there was a sound of breaking glass and they glanced up to where the noise was. It was Molly, and she had gotten drunk too. Ginny looked revolted now. Harry glanced around the party, and was shocked to see almost everyone was drunk, and the party had barely been going for two hours. So far, the only people who hadn't gotten drunk were him, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, and Lily.

Lily and Hermione made their way over to where they were. Lily looked disapproving while Hermione looked appalled at the behavior of some people. Harry quickly put his hand over Ron's mouth so Hermione wouldn't hear what he was saying.

"I can't believe them! They're so irresponsible!" exclaimed Lily. "I am so going to kill James when all of this is taken care of,"

"Ron got drunk too?" asked Hermione, glancing at the still mumbling Ron.

"Yeah. I don't think that he knew that there was fire whiskey in the punch, so he ended up drinking a lot," explained Harry. Lily and the others nodded and glanced around the party. There was music playing off the wireless, and a few people were dancing, even though you couldn't call it a dance, more like jumping around and swinging their arms.

"What are we going to do?" asked Ginny.

"We could get drunk too and wait for this to clear up," suggested Fred. The rest of them glared at him.

"Why don't we knock everyone out?" asked Harry.

"I'm the only one who can use magic here, though," said Lily.

"Oh. I forgot that this isn't Potter Manor," said Harry sheepishly.

"How can you forget? Potter Manor is cheery and has a good atmosphere while this place… is just bad," said Lily. Harry glared at her.

"I mean I forgot that I couldn't do magic anywhere but Potter Manor," snapped Harry.

"Anyway, what should we do?" asked Hermione, hoping to bring their attention back to the problem at hand.

"I say that we just let them eventually pass out then tomorrow tease them about this," said Fred.

"I agree. Why don't we take pictures?" asked George. Lily, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry exchanged unsure looks.

"Well… why not? I mean, they kind of deserve to be made fun of," said Ginny. In the end, they decided that it would be best just to let them pass out on their own. In the meantime, they would take pictures that could be used to their advantage in the future.

After a few hours of watching people embarrass themselves, a few people finally passed out. Meaning, James and Sirius passed out. A few hours later, almost everyone was asleep on the floor. They had gotten many pictures from this, and they decided that they would use them wisely.

"What should we do now?" asked Harry, gesturing to the floor. Ginny shrugged while Lily looked thoughtful.

"Why don't we just leave them here?" she suggested. "I doubt that they would want to wake up in this kind of position, and it would be hilarious to see their reactions,"

After a while, they decided to go to their rooms here to sleep.

* * *

James woke up with a horrible headache. When he said horrible, he meant that it felt that his head was going to split right open.

"Oh, he's waking up," said a voice. James winced at the sound, it felt like they were screaming in his ear and it was making his head pound. He opened his eyes cautiously and found almost everyone gathered around him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You and the rest of these guys got drunk and passed out. You're the last one to wake up, by the way," said Lily.

"I passed out?" asked James, the evening events slowly returning to him.

"Yeah. Sirius just woke up a few minutes ago. Don't worry, not everyone got drunk," said Harry.

"What does that mean?" asked James.

"It means that the people who didn't get drunk, me, mum, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a whole ton of pictures," answered Harry. James groaned. He remembered some of the things he did last night, and he really hoped that they didn't get pictures of all of it. A few people snickered at his expression.

"What time is it?" asked James.

"One in the afternoon," answered Lily.

"One in the afternoon? I was out that long?" said James, amazed.

"Yep," said Fred.

"We should go home now," said Lily.

"Yeah, I want to get Harry started on his animagus form," said Remus. James groaned again.

"There is no way that I can teach him that stuff right now," said James.

"I didn't think so," said Remus, smiling.

"Why are you so happy anyway?" asked James.

"Because I had a feeling that something like this would happen so I made a few potions that get rid of hangovers. To bad I don't have anymore," said Remus. James glared at him.

"Right. Let's… just… go home," said James reluctantly. After a few minutes, they were ready to floo out. James was pleased to see that Sirius was just as trashed as he was. When they finally went back home, James instantly called one of the elves for a hangover potion. When they finally had gotten the potion and it had taken effect, Harry's snake, which they had left here, came slithering down the stairs. It began to hiss at Harry who hissed back. It began to creep James out, so he said, "Why don't we start on your form?" Harry nodded quickly, looking like he wanted to get away from Ice.

"Okay then, we should go to the experiment room to do this. I doubt that your hawk form will be very big, so we can practice in there," said Remus. Harry nodded and everyone went up to the experiment room.

"Okay, the first thing that you need to do is concentrate hard on your form, concentrate on every detail," said James.

"After that, you need to will yourself to change into the form," said Sirius. After a few moments of standing around, James could tell that Harry was beginning to feel stupid.

"Was something supposed to happen?" asked Harry.

"Well, it takes a lot of practice and power to change, I mean, it took me and James about three weeks just to get a small patch of fur. It gets easier as you go on though, and after a while you'll be able to change without even thinking about it," said Sirius.

"It took you three weeks?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, well, we also didn't have a teacher with us," muttered James. Harry nodded. After about another hour of standing around and concentrating on his form, they decided that that was enough practicing. Harry reluctantly agreed.

"I guess we should tell you more about animagus forms," said Sirius.

"Yeah. When you're in your form you also have the brain of your animal, in your case a hawk. You'll think like a hawk, but after a while you'll be able to think with your human mind, though it takes a little while," said James.

"Like I kept getting the impulses to chase cats when I'm in my dog form," said Sirius.

"After a lot of practice you'll be able to block a lot of your hawk mind out, but it could take a while, and it doesn't help that you have to be in your hawk form to practice," said Remus.

"You'll probably feel like flying and eating mice," said Sirius.

"Speaking of eating, why don't we go have dinner?" asked Lily.

* * *

Harry dragged himself to his room. He was tired again; Lily had decided to test him on history of magic. Of course, when she realized how bad he was at it, she decided that he needed another tutoring lesson on it. Harry felt like his head had been banged against the wall a whole ton of times.

_/Are you ready to train now/ _asked Ice, slithering out of the shadows.

/_I guess/_ answered Harry.

_/I still can't believe that you left me here while you went to a party. Then you didn't come home, and you missed your training/_

_/I told you that I'm sorry/_

_/Sorry isn't good enough/_

_/What do you want me to do/_

_/I want you to research animagus forms again. See of you can find the breed of dragon that you were/_

_/I doubt that I ever will. I've never heard of it/_

_/Which means that it most probably is out there somewhere and almost everyone knows of it/_

_/What is that supposed to mean/_

_/It means that you aren't the smartest person there is. Now, go to the library/_ Harry unhappily got up from where he was positioned on the bed and crept down to the library. He began to look around for a book on dragons. After a few minutes, he found one titled, _Rare Breeds of Dragons and their Uses. _He also got a few books on animaguses and out them on one of the tables. He started reading the dragon book first.

After about twenty minutes he still couldn't find anything about the dragon that he was. He was so immersed in reading the book that he didn't see Lily enter the library.

"What are you doing up?" asked Lily. Harry jumped, having not seen her.

"Erm, just reading," answered Harry.

"Why are you up reading?" asked Lily.

"I… couldn't get to sleep," lied Harry lamely.

"What are you reading?" asked Lily.

"Erm… just a book," said Harry.

"A book on dragons?"

"Yeah, they sounded interesting so I thought I would do a little background reading on them," said Harry.

"That might have been a good excuse if I hadn't known that you avoid reading at all costs," said Lily. Harry gave her a small smile.

"I guess I should get to bed," said Harry. He left the library quickly, forgetting about all of the books that he had taken off the shelf. Harry went into his room. Ice had been with him that whole time, and he wasn't particularly happy about it.

_/You couldn't have thought up a better excuse/_

_/Well, I didn't expect her to come in like that/_

_/That doesn't give you an excuse to be unprepared/_

_/Well, what did you want me to do? Make an excuse before I went there/_

_/Yeah, that would have been better than look like a complete idiot/ _

_/Well, I didn't think that anyone would come in there so late at night/_

_/I know. Which is why you need to be more prepared/_

_/I'm prepared fine, thank you very much/_

_/No, you're not. You a lazy child/_

_/I am not/_

_/Yes, you are. You're often slacking off when we're training and you aren't trying to your full potential/ _

_/A lot you know then/_

_/I know more than you think. If you ever want to survive another time with Voldemort, you're going to have to try harder/ _

_/Oh, shut up, it's not like I'm the only one who can defeat him/_

_/You'd be surprised/ _

_/If you say so. Can I go to sleep/ _

_/NO! We're going to start training more. While you're getting better at wandless magic and have improved with the sword, you still have way too much to learn. You barely know anything about this kind of stuff, and you're not trying. I think that we need to do more training/_

_/Does this mean that I'm going to have to go to bed later and get up earlier/_

_/Yes/_

_/No way! I already do too much/_

_/And while I'm going to teach you all of this stuff, I want you to pay more attention to your mother when she's tutoring you. I also expect you to get better in your classes when you go back to school/_

_/What! Why/ _

_/Because you need to learn this stuff/_

_/What will happen when I go to school? I can't take you with me/_

_/Easy. I go invisible. All you need to do is carry me on your shoulders or put me in your bag/_

_/I think that I'll put you in my bag/_

_/Nope. You're going to carry me on your shoulders more because it'll help you get your strength and endurance up/ _

_/Fine/_

_/I also want you to practice on your animagus transformations more. You never know when they will come in handy/_

_/There's another problem. Where will I practice all of this? I mean, I can't practice in my dorm room because of the fact that I live with four other boys/_

_/Is there any other place that you know of that people won't spot you or don't know about/_

_/Well, not that I know of… wait, there is one, but I don't want to go there/_

_/Where is it/_

_/It's called the Chamber of Secrets/_

_/Oh, I've heard of that. Yes, that will be perfect/_

_/I just said that I don't want to go there/_

_/Then why did you suggest it/_

_/…/_

_/Anyway, it will be perfect. Only a parselmouth can open it, and you're the only parselmouth other than Voldemort, correct/_

_/Yeah/_

_/So then this is perfect/_

_/But I don't want to go down there/_

_/That's too bad, isn't it/_

_/Hey, you can't make me go down there/_

_/You would be amazed at what I can do/ _

_/I don't care what you think. Anyway, there is a rotting basilisk down there too/_

_/Well, that can be used as valuable potions ingredients/_

_/I don't want to use it as potions ingredients/_

_/Too bad. You'll harvest all the ingredients you can then you can vanish the remains/ _

_/Fine then. But I really don't want to do this/_

_/Don't worry. Anyway, you still have a month until you go back to school/ _

Harry sighed and flopped down onto his bed. He was really tired now. Unfortunately, Ice still wanted to train tonight.

* * *

Lily glanced around at the books that lay scattered around the table that Harry had been working at. There were animagus books and dragon books. Lily wasn't sure anymore what Harry was doing. She glanced down at the books again and saw that one of the books were open. She glanced down at it and frowned at what she saw.

_When you have multiple animagus forms it means that you are a very powerful witch or wizard. The last known person to have multiple animagus forms were the four founders of the school Hogwarts. Gryffindor had three forms, Slytherin had three forms, Ravenclaw had two forms, and Hufflepuff had two forms. The most anyone has ever had was Merlin, who had four forms._

Lily stared at the page, deep in thought. Then suddenly it seemed to click in her mind. Harry reading about multiple animagus forms. Harry reading about dragons. _He had two_ _forms! _It was obvious as she thought about it, the way Harry had hesitated when he told them, the way he had been reading about dragons late at night. Harry didn't want anyone to know, but why he didn't Lily wasn't sure. Lily decided that she would give him time to talk to her about it, especially if she wasn't right.

* * *

A/N: Lily knows about another form! She's way too smart because she's going to eventually figure everything out. Anyway, please review! 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Well, here's another chapter. They're going to go to Hogwarts in this chapter. So get ready for that. Thank you for all of the reviews that I have gotten, they really make my day. To answer questions, the reason why Lily never brought up the Gringotts's key that fell out of Harry's pocket was because she was trying to figure out why he had it in the first place, and it never really occured to her to ask. The reason why Harry never wondered where it went is because he hadn't really thought about it, and since he got punished, never wanted to think about it. Another person asked me why Harry was using the Chamber of Secrets and not the Shreiking Shack. Simply put, I forgot about the Shreiking Shack. But in the future I might use it, I'm not really sure yet. Also, the fact that Lily and James seem a bit like Ron and Hermione were brought to my attention. I hadn't planned it like that, but there are some differences between them. Anyways, here's the story.

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Returning of the Parents

By: AutumnBreeze12

Chapter 11

* * *

The rest of the holidays seemed to pass by in a flash. With tutoring from Lily and animagus training with Sirius, James, and Remus, the holidays went by quickly. Harry was still looking for the breed of dragon that he was, but he couldn't find anything. He also started researching his other forms. He tried to find out more properties of the Golden Phoenix, but they were so rare that only a few people have ever even seen them, let alone study them. 

On August 31, for the first time in his life Harry didn't want to go back to Hogwarts. He had been having a good time with his parents. There never was a dull moment with them, with pranks going back and forth from the Marauders and Lily always yelling and making things even more interesting. Harry was going to miss them when he went to Hogwarts, but he knew that they could still visit for quidditch matches and when he landed himself in the hospital wing.

Harry had been working really hard on his animagus transformations. The rate that he was learning it at was alarming, and James, Sirius, and Remus said that none of them had learned that quickly. Harry felt proud at how far he had gotten. He could get many patches of feathers on his body for his hawk form. He also could get some of the coat that the ferret had, some of the lion's mane, but the other two were harder. He had not managed anything for his golden phoenix, except one golden feather on his chin. He had not managed anything for the dragon, but that might be because of the fact that he wasn't really trying for that one until he found out what breed it was.

Lily had been acting weird lately when Harry and the others went to practice his animagus forms. She would look at him oddly, almost as if wanting to say something, but she never did. It was almost as if she knew something but didn't want to say it. It got really annoying when Hermione did this, and now that Lily seemed to be doing it too it got Harry frustrated.

Ice had been working Harry as hard as he could while Harry was still at Potter Manor. He said that he would have to tone it down a little when he was in school because he would have to concentrate on his schoolwork and not just his training. Ice said that they would be training in the Chamber of Secrets though.

Harry had decided that he wouldn't tell anyone about his extra forms or the fact that he had Merlin's sword. He had debated about telling Ron and Hermione but decided that they probably had enough to deal with. Both of them had been made prefects, and they would have O.W.L.s this year too, that meant that they would have enough on their plates without him adding to their worries.

* * *

Lily watched as Harry dove to the ground on his broom with James. She had decided to revoke his ban on the last day of the holidays. She had been watching him carefully. She had noticed that he had begun to gain some muscles and he had been getting healthier lately. It was like he was getting more fit, like he was working out. Lily also noticed that he had been getting even more tired lately. She had gone into the library a few times that week at night to see if he was there. As it turns out, he was there each time. She never went up to him, but she could tell he was concentrating hard. Each time after he left, she would go and see what books that he had been reading, but the only ones that he left out were books on dragons and on animagus. She had figured out that he must be a dragon, but couldn't find the breed.

She had gone to a few sections that he had been looking at and found more books on magical animals. Lily figured that he had been looking for more on books on dragons. Lily hadn't found anything else. She wasn't sure what to think anymore, she wasn't sure if Harry had just been reading those books or if he really had multiple forms.

She sighed as she watched Harry catch the snitch. He had so many secrets, and she couldn't do anything about it. She knew when James told her that one of the Weasleys told him that Harry had more secrets than the whole school put together that she had thought they had been joking, but now she knew that they weren't. She wished that he would tell her more about himself, but he didn't. He never did.

Lily watched as Harry and the others came towards her after they were done flying. She got up from her spot in the grass that was near the stands and walked to them. Their hair was windswept and messy, meaning Harry's hair looked the same. She wrinkled her nose when she smelled their stench though.

"Ugh, you guys need to shower," complained Lily.

"That's what you get from practicing quidditch for a couple of hours," said James lightly. "Anyway, we should go in. I'm starving,"

"You always are," said Remus as he led the way in. Lily snuck a glance at Harry. After the quidditch practice he looked even more tired. Was he not sleeping well? He did say that he was having frequent nightmares, but she didn't think that they were this bad. Lily sighed. This was one mystery that she really wanted to solve.

They went into the dining hall and began to dig into the feast that Binky and Dinky had prepared for them. They seemed like they prepared a feast for them every meal. They were really happy that James had returned to them, and they had been taking extra steps just to please him.

Lily glanced around the dining room. It was alarming at how fast she had come to think of this place as her home. It just seemed to have a feeling to it that made her feel safe. No matter what other people said, she thought that this would be one of the safest places there were, even better than Hogwarts. She was quite content with it.

After lunch the three Marauders decided to teach Harry some more animagus stuff, so Lily began to wonder around the house. She found herself entering her room. She looked around it and sighed. She walked over to the jewelry box on one of the desks and retrieved a key from the dresser. She unlocked the box and glanced inside.

In this box she put all of her items that were most valuable and that fit in it. She had a few necklaces from her mother, a ring from her father, and a bit of jewelry from one of her friends that had died at the hands of a death eater. She had added the key to their vault. It hadn't been in here about a month before; it had been carelessly tossed on the desk. Lily had made sure to put it in here now, ever since she saw Harry drop it she had a suspicion that if he could steal it then anyone could.

Lily began to wonder what Harry was doing with the key in the first place. Did he happen to come in here and find the key, and decide to put it in a better place? No, Harry wouldn't do that; he would come to Lily with it. Did he go to Gringotts when he went to wherever he went when he flooed out in the middle of the night? It was a possibility, but then what was he doing at Gringotts? It confused her to no end.

Lily sighed again and began to wander out of her room again. She wandered past Harry's room and saw the door open. She stopped and stared at it for a second, before walking in carefully. She looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like a regular room. Something inside her told her to search it, so she began to look around carefully. She saw something sticking out from under his bed. Was that a hilt to a sword? She reached forward to grasp it.

There was suddenly an angry hissing from her right. She jumped and began to back away from the pure white snake that was hissing at her angrily. She had forgotten Harry had this snake, it hadn't really made an appearance except a few times at the table. She thought that Harry carried Ice around with him, but apparently that wasn't the case. She backed away from it. It seemed to be advancing on her.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she said awkwardly to the snake. The snake just hissed more. She sighed. "I'm leaving," she said to it. She hurried out of the room. She knew that Ice would tell Harry that she had been in his room. Suddenly she stopped dead as she realized what she had seen. She knew that Harry carried Ice almost everywhere with him, so why was Ice there? And then there was the hilt to that sword that she had seen.

Lily sighed. This seemed to give her more questions then answers. But one thing was for sure, and that was Harry definitely was hiding something.

* * *

_/She what/_

_/Yes. You mother came into the room looking around. She saw the hilt of the sword before I could stop her. You really should hide these things more carefully rather than stuffing them under your bed/_

_/I couldn't help it, I was in a hurry! And why didn't you stop her from seeing the sword/_

_/She was too quick. By the time that I saw her in here, I was asleep by the way; she had already gotten to the sword! But she didn't see all of it/_

_/She still saw it! And that alone is bad. Why was she in my room/ _

_/How should I know? She's your mother/_

_/…/_

_/We should start training now/_

_/No, I have to go to Kings Cross tomorrow. I need sleep/_

_/No, you need to train. It's your own fault that we can't train in the daylight because you won't tell anyone about this/  
_

_/Whatever/_ said Harry as he took out the sword. He began to practice with his sword carefully. After a few hours of this and a bit of magical training, Harry finally able to sleep.

When Harry woke up in the morning, he was surprised to see that it was Lily waking him up and not Ice. "What time is it?" he asked her.

"Nine thirty. We should get ready to send you off to school," said Lily. Harry nodded as Lily left. Harry got up from the bed and began to prepare for the day. After he was done getting dressed and doing all of that, Ice decided to slither out from under the bed.

_/Where were you? And why did you let me sleep late/_

_/I let you sleep late because I decided that you needed a break, however small it was/ _Harry nodded at this and made sure that he had all of his things packed. Harry made his way downstairs where his mother, father, godfather, and Remus, or his 'uncle'. Harry gave them all small smiles and they told him that they would be taking portkeys to Kings Cross. Harry nodded, though reluctantly because he never was very good with portkeys. Harry touched the old newspaper that was their portkey and a moment later they arrived in Kings Cross station.

Harry looked around, taking in the hustle and bustle of the station. After a few moments they walked through the platform (the portkey didn't take them straight to it). Ron and Hermione spotted them instantly and rushed up to him. They pulled him away, and the four adults followed.

When they were done saying all of their good-byes, Harry and the others went onto the train just as the whistle blew. Harry leaned out of the window and waved to his parents, who waved merrily back. They seemed to be almost happy when Harry said bye to them, and they had a glint in their eyes that told them that they knew something that he didn't know.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful except for Draco Malfoy and his cronies coming in to their compartment. When they finally got to Hogwarts, Harry had been unnerved by the appearance of the Thestrals, but recognized them because they were something his mother went over with him in the summer. Harry sat down in his seat and watched the sorting hat take place. When the last person was called, Dumbledore stood up. Harry glanced around the staff table and frowned.

"Where's Flitwick and Hagrid?" asked Harry. Hermione and Ron shrugged at him. He had identified the new DADA teacher as the undersecretary of the minister, and they guessed that she was working for Fudge. Dumbledore was in the middle of making the announcements when Umbridge decided to make her own speech. Harry didn't listen to a word of it, but pretended to anyways.

After she was done Dumbledore took control of the hall again and began making the rest of the announcements.

"The forbidden forest is supposed to be forbidden, as some people should remember," he said, his eyes flicking towards Harry and the others. "Our new defense against the darks arts teacher is Professor Umbridge," he added. "And, due to family problems, Professor Flitwick won't be with us this year. Also, we have a new assistant care of magical creatures teacher, and two aurors guarding the school. They should be here right now, but I'm sure they have a perfect excuse as to why they're not," said Dumbledore.

"Hold on," whispered Harry to Ron and Hermione. "There is four positions opened who aren't here yet? Don't tell me…"

At that moment the doors burst open and in came Lily Potter, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. "SEE! I told you that we shouldn't go that way!" said Lily indignantly.

"How was I supposed to know that the passage was caved in?' asked Sirius. The four turned to Dumbledore.

"We're very sorry we're late, but someone got us lost," said Lily, glaring at Sirius. Sirius smiled innocently. They quickly took their seats at the staff table. Harry was trying his hardest not to laugh. This would definitely be a fun year. Snape looked as though he had swallowed a lemon.

"As I was saying, please welcome professors Potter and Lupin, and please welcome aurors Black and Potter!" said Dumbledore. The whole hall erupted into cheers, all except for the Slytherins, who were looking murderous. Some of the students were just looking amazed because two people who were dead, an ex-convict, and a werewolf stood in front of them. Harry thought all of this was hilarious. No wonder they didn't seem at all sad when they were saying bye at the station.

Some of the people at the Gryffindor table were looking really happy. They knew that the four teachers had been in Gryffindor and hated Slytherin, so they were looking forward towards their classes. Lily smiled at Harry and James waved happily. Harry smiled back.

After they were dismissed, Harry hurried up to the staff table. He approached his parents. "How come you didn't tell me that you were going to be teachers?" asked Harry.

"Aurors. We're aurors and will never stoop to the teaching level," said Sirius. "Unlike some Marauders that I know," he added, glancing at Remus.

"We wanted it to be a surprise. So, surprise," said Lily. Harry gave her a smile.

"Where's Hagrid?" he asked, suddenly realizing that the half giant wasn't here.

"Oh, just taking care of some business," said James evasively. "Now, you should get to bed," said James as an afterthought. Sirius snorted.

"That means go pull a whole ton of pranks, Harry," said Sirius in a stage whisper. Harry nodded as he walked out of the hall to where Ron and Hermione were waiting for him. They talked excitedly for a few minutes before they went up to the common room. Harry waited until he heard Ron's snores before he got up.

He crept over to his trunk and took out the Sword of Merlin. Ice slithered out and slithered onto his arm, curling up around his neck. Harry slowly walked out of his dormitory, making sure that he didn't wake anyone up. He crept down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. Suddenly Harry stopped. He had forgotten the invisibility cloak and the map! He mentally cursed himself at his idiocy for forgetting that in his haste to get out of the room unnoticed. He shrugged and prayed that no one would catch him.

After a little while he found himself standing in front of the door which held an 'out of order' sign. Harry ignored this and pushed the door open. He walked into the room. There was no sign of Myrtle anywhere, so Harry walked towards the sinks.

_/Open/ _Harry hissed at the sink. After some grating and sinking, the sink changed into a pipe that held the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry slowly slid into the pipe and down it. He felt much better knowing what was ahead of him, so he found himself enjoying the ride more. After he had gotten out of the pipe, he went down the tunnels, remembering the way from when he was down here before. He stopped in front of the door right before the Chamber.

_/Open/ _he hissed. The door slowly opened, and as he entered the Chamber he backed out of it immediately. The smell was horrible, after years of being dead; the basilisk was rotting and was making the smell unbearable. Ice slithered off his shoulder.

_/R-right. We should get the potions ingredients from it and then vanish it/_ said Ice. Harry stared at Ice. That as the first time he had ever heard Ice stumble on one of his words. At first, he didn't think that you could stumble on words in parseltongue, but soon found out that it was like ordinary English. Harry had never heard Ice stumbling or ever dropping his sarcastic manner, and now that he did Harry couldn't believe._ /Well, are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to do something about that stench/_ snapped Ice.

Harry quickly got into action. After a little while, under Ice's instructions he had gotten basilisk venom, basilisk skin, a few fangs from its mouth, some of its blood, and other useful ingredients. Harry had brought many empty vials down, and they were all filling fast.

_/Hurry up, you still have much to do and it's almost five in the morning/_ snapped Ice. Harry, who was bent over the basilisk, snapped his head up.

_/It's already five in the morning/_ he asked, trying to straighten out his neck by cracking it. He hadn't realized how much time had passed.

_/Yes. I think that it will be too hard to train in the mornings, so I think that we'll just train more in the night/ _declared Ice. Harry nodded, too tired to try to argue.

_/We should go back/ _said Harry. He got up and began to walk back to the entrance. Ice slithered along beside him.

_/We should try to get more ingredients next time we're down here/ _commented Ice. Harry nodded again. He could already tell that this would be a long day.

* * *

Lily prepared excitedly for her first class. She had always wanted to be a teacher, but she had decided to stay home and take care of Harry instead of working. She had let James make all of the money and stayed with Harry all day, which was a lot of work in itself. Lily glanced over at James. He was still sleeping. He may not seem it, but he woke up instantly every time someone tries to wake him, even though he doesn't realize it, and his brain finds out if there is an emergency or not, and if there isn't one it goes to sleep again. James didn't know that this was happening, but Lily found out after a little research. That's why he could always wake up in emergencies but not in someone screaming in his ear.

Lily shook him a little. "James, wake up, you have stuff to do today," said Lily. When James made no sign of moving, Lily grabbed the pillows and blankets from him. James groaned and moved his hand, trying to find the blankets again. When his hand didn't find anything, James opened one of his eyes and stared at Lily.

"May I please have my blanket back?" he asked sweetly.

"Tonight, maybe," said Lily. "You have work to do. Remember that you wanted to install those cameras today?" said Lily. James nodded and sat up groggily. Lily sighed. James was putting up magical cameras that told him or Sirius that someone was out of bed when it was past curfew. They were in every hallway, except for the bathrooms for privacy. As it was, there were some in the bathroom, but they decided that for the privacy matter that they wouldn't keep them on at all times. The only problem with the cameras was that it only spotted visible people, meaning that Harry could get past them with his invisibility cloak.

Lily had wanted to take the cloak away from him, but James and Sirius said no to that, it was one of the things that they wouldn't let her do. She was mostly the person who does the punishments, but sometimes Sirius and James intervenes, and when they do it meant that she wasn't going to win. She had also wanted to take away the map, and Sirius and James reluctantly agreed to that, but Harry hid the map so they couldn't take it away. It was times like those that Lily realized that Harry was a little bit smarter than he looked.

After James was done getting ready, both he and Lily went down to the Great Hall. Lily looked around for Harry instantly, and found him seated at the Gryffindor table. Lily frowned at the way he looked. He was hiding it pretty well, but she could tell that he was tired, really tired. It looked like her and Ginny were the only ones who could see through his masks right now. For a moment, Lily wondered why it was Ginny and not Hermione or Ron, but Lily knew that Ginny was very sharp sometimes.

James made his way to where Harry sat. James wasted no time in sitting next to him, completely ignoring the startled looks that some of the students sent his way. They hadn't expected him to sit with them. Lily just shook her head and went to the staff table. She watched as most of the Gryffindors crowded around James, laughing at the things that he said and looking like they were having a good time. Sirius came in after a while, and he went to the Gryffindor table too. Remus came in after Sirius, and went to where Lily was sitting.

"They do know that they aren't in school anymore, right?" asked Lily. Remus shrugged.

"I don't think that they ever grew up," he commented lightly. Lily nodded.

"Too true," she said as the whole Gryffindor table roared with laughter. Lily had a sneaking suspicion as to what James said, seeing as the students kept glancing at Snape, who was trying hard to keep his cool. She knew that Gryffindor would be losing a lot of points today.

"So, who do you have scheduled for today?" asked Remus.

"No one interesting," said Lily. "Just a few sixth years, seventh years, first years, and third years,"

"Hmmm…" said Remus thoughtfully. Lily glanced at him.

"What are you thinking?" asked Lily.

"I was just thinking, how is Harry going to react when he realizes that we aren't going to go easy on him because we're his guardians,"

"He knows we won't go easy on him. I think that I drilled that into his head when I was tutoring him over the summer," said Lily. Remus smiled.

* * *

James glanced around the deserted hallways. Him and Sirius were putting up the cameras right now, and he didn't want any of the students to see him. He wanted to keep it a secret from them so they didn't tell their parents or they didn't find some way to fool the cameras. Though, it wouldn't be hard to fool the cameras, seeing as all you had to do was use an invisibility cloak or an invisibility spell and the cameras don't realized that you're there.

James slowly hooked up the camera in a dark corner that no one would think to look. He put an invisibility charm over it so no one would see it and began to walk away. He had to put these up all over the castle, in every corridor. There were hundreds of corridors, so James didn't really want to do this. Of course, some weren't used, but Dumbledore said that if they were going to use the cameras then they had to put them everywhere.

It would take a few days to install them all, but James was prepared for it. He also had Sirius helping him, though he had a vague suspicion that Sirius wasn't really helping him. James sighed and sat down in an empty classroom. He was tired from putting up all of the cameras, so he needed to sit down for a few moments. Once he felt that he had rested enough, he started putting up all of the cameras, including one in the room he was in.

James walked out of the classroom and into the corridor. The bell rang, and it was almost time for dinner. James was surprised a how fast the day went. He made his way down the corridor, through all of the students, heading towards the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall intercepted him on the way there, though.

"James, I need to see you for a moment," she said. James nodded in confusion and followed her to her office. As they sat down, she surveyed him for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "Harry has received a weeks detention," she said finally.

"Why?" asked James.

"Because he shouted at Dolores Umbridge," James groaned as the full impact of those words hit him. Of course, the ministry didn't believe that Voldemort was back, so if Umbridge said anything that made it sound like Harry was lying about it, Harry could turn real nasty.

"Lily had already been informed, as well as Sirius and Remus. We couldn't find you, so you're the last one. I hope that you deal with this properly," said Minerva. James nodded and stood to go. As James left, he could hear Minerva let out another sigh.

James hurried to find Harry. He found him in the hall with Ron and Hermione. "Harry!" shouted James. James pushed his way through the crowds and stopped when he finally reached Harry and his friends. They looked up at him in surprise.

"Yeah, dad?" asked Harry.

"I need to see you for a few moments," said James as he pulled Harry into and empty classroom. As soon as James locked the door and put a silencing charm around it, he turned to Harry. "Listen, I know that Umbridge can make anyone mad, but don't rise to the bait," said James. Harry confusion instantly turned into anger.

"I had every right to yell at her! She was being a horrible toad!" snapped Harry. James raised his eyebrow.

"I don't care. She's too close to the minister for you to go making her mad. Oh, and just to warn you, Lily and the others know about this, so I would hide if I were you," advised James. Harry nodded in understanding and they both left through the doors. James went to the Great Hall while Harry went in the other direction. It seemed like Harry was taking his advice and hiding form Lily's wrath.

* * *

Harry sighed as he began to attempt to start his homework. He had no clue what he was doing, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves, He knew that he needed to get this homework done, and he needed to do it now or else there might not be enough time. As it was, there were a lot of homework for the fifth years already and it was just the first day. Harry rubbed his eyes.

He began to work on his divination homework. Slowly, very slowly, he got it done. Harry glanced at the clock and saw that it was six o'clock now. Harry continued his homework until he saw Ron and Hermione entering the portrait hole. He waved them over, and they came to him.

"What are you working on?" asked Hemione, grabbing his essay.

"Well, I finished divination and now I'm trying to work on potions," said Harry. Hermione nodded while checking over his homework for mistakes. Her eyebrows shot up.

"How far are you with this?" she said, gesturing to his potions essay.

"I dunno, almost done," shrugged Harry.

"Well, so far you've gotten every fact right," said Hermione in a disbelieving tone. Ron's head snapped up from where he was watching Fred and George.

"What?" Ron said.

"Yes. It looks like this is at least an 'exceeds expectations' paper, Harry," said Hermione. Harry stared at her.

"You are joking, right?" he asked. When Hermione shook her head Harry said, "Well, I guess my mom tutoring me is good for something," Hermione looked up excitedly when Harry said 'tutoring'.

"You mean your mom taught you stuff over vacation? Wow, Harry, I'm so jealous," squealed Hermoine.

"It's nothing, I'm sure she can tell you a few things too," said Harry. Hermione looked as though Christmas had come early.

* * *

A/N: Well, that was certainly longer than I expected it to be. Also, I'm sorry for not posting this up earlier, but my computer wouldn't let me log in. Please review! 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I'm only writing for fanfiction, if I did own Harry Potter, then why would I write for it?

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! Here are some answers to questions. One person asked me if Harry could really escape Lily's wrath in the last chapter. Though he did try, Lily ended up finding him and yelling at him, but the yelling isn't included in this chapter.

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**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 12**

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Harry groaned as he flexed his hand. He had been trying to do his homework, but his hand started cramping up from all of the writing. His parents had been right, fifth year was the hardest. It was still his first day and he already had a whole ton of homework. Harry sighed. He had a detention with Umbridge today and he needed to go down into the Chamber tonight and complete his homework.

Harry sighed and glanced at the clock. It was time for his detention. Harry got up and began to make his way out of the portrait hole and to his detention. Harry stopped at Umbridge's office and knocked. "Come in," came her sickly sweet voice. Harry stepped into her office and looked around, immediately regretting it. The office looked horrible, it had lurid pink all over it and looked just like Umbridge herself.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, please come in," said Umbridge in her sickly sweet voice. Harry carefully approached her desk, wondering what he would be doing. He saw a sharp, black quill lying down on a desk and realized that he would most likely be doing lines.

"Lines, then?" asked Harry, gesturing to the desk where the quill lay. Umbridge's smile seemed to widen.

"Yes,"

"How many?" asked Harry, sitting down at the desk.

"As long as it takes for the message to… sink in. You will write 'I must not tell lies'," she said sweetly. Harry shrugged and out the quill to the paper before realizing what was missing.

"You haven't given me any ink," he stated.

"Oh, you won't need ink," she said sweetly. Harry shrugged and began to write. A pain erupted in his right hand and Harry looked at it to see the words 'I must not tell lies' forming on his hand. Just as quickly as the words had come, they healed back, leaving the skin slightly redder than it had been. Harry stifled a gasp and glanced back at Umbridge. She gave him a sickly sweet smile.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Potter?" she asked. Harry shook his head and began to write again.

_/You do realize that what you are doing is ridiculous/ _asked Ice from his place on Harry's shoulders. Harry gave a small shrug and said nothing, not wanting Umbridge to find out that he had a snake with him. Harry went on and on, writing 'I must not tell lies' on the back of his hand, each time it taking a little longer to heal. Around midnight, Umbrigde requested that she see his hand.

"Well, it doesn't look like the lesson has quite sunk in yet, had it Mr. Potter? No worries, we'll be able to work on it tomorrow," said Umbridge. Harry got up and left her office as quickly as he could. He walked quickly towards the Chamber of Secrets. He knew that he still needed to clean the place out.

Harry sighed as he slid down the tunnel into the Chamber. He doubted that there would be any sleep for him tonight. Not only was Ice going to work him till early in the morning for cleaning this place, he also needed to finish all of his homework. Harry began to get started on getting the rest of the ingredients from the basilisk. It was six in the morning when Ice was finally satisfied with the amount of ingredients he had gotten and allowed him to go back up to his dormitory. As much as Harry wanted to sleep, he knew that he needed to finish his homework, so he sat down in the common room and began to work.

* * *

Lily watched happily as all of the children came into the Great Hall for breakfast. After a few minutes she realized that Harry and most of the other fifth year Gryffindors hadn't come in yet. She began to wonder what was keeping them, before they all seemed to flood in to eat breakfast. Lily looked around again, expecting to see Harry among them, but instead she saw Ron and Hermione chatting near the end of the table. Lily frowned, now she was really wondering where he could be. She got up and approached Ron and Hermione. 

"Where is Harry?" she asked.

"He was in the common room finishing his homework," supplied Ron. Lily frowned disapprovingly.

"You mean he left it for morning?" she asked. Hermione nodded while Ron looked sheepish.

"Well, he looked really tired, almost like he hadn't slept," said Ron quickly, trying to hide his uneasy look. Unfortunately, Hermione spotted his look.

"You didn't do your homework either, did you?" asked Hermione sharply. Ron winced and opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione cut him off. "I can't believe you two! I told you both that you would need to get your homework done right away or else you would be overloaded! Do you never listen to me?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that question," snapped Hermione. "I mean, I guess I can't really blame Harry for trying to get his homework done, but you should be with him!" she snarled. Ron seemed to cower a moment at her look, then regained his composer.

"Well, it's not my fault I didn't get my homework done!" said Ron hotly. Hermione glared at him.

"Then why didn't you get it done?" Hermione asked. Lily sighed and decided to leave the two to their argument, which didn't look like it was going anywhere. Anyways, she needed to prepare for her class. Lily walked out of the Great Hall and found Harry coming down the staircase to go to breakfast. Lily looked him over and realized after a few moments of studying him that he did look really tired. Lily made her way over to him.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Lily advised him. "Ron and Hermione are having one of their… unique arguments,"

"Again? What's it this time?" asked Harry.

"Homework," said Lily. Harry sighed.

"I should have known. When are they just going to give it up and go out?" asked Harry. Lily laughed.

"Me and James were just like they were, except we weren't friends and James actually asked me to go out… every single day," said Lily. Harry smiled at her and went into the Great Hall to eat his breakfast. Lily happily went to her classroom. She had Harry and the other sixth years today for her first period class and she wanted it to be a good lesson. After a few minutes, the students began to file into the classroom, looking unsure of how to act around her. After the last student was situated in their chair, Lily stood up from her place at her desk and surveyed her class.

"Now, I believe most of you know me, I'm Lily Potter," she started. After a few moments of telling the class about herself, she began to lecture the class about the importance of O.W.L.s. They all seemed to stop listening after a few minutes, so she began to quiz a few of them on what she had said, and made quite a few of the students embarrassed. They did a basic review of the things that they had learned the rest of the class. Lily thought that she had done a pretty good job and felt herself swell with pride when Harry and Hermione came up to her and told her that she had done an excellent job.

"You did an excellent job, Lily," said Hermione. "I would like to know more about O.W.L.s though, they sound very hard!" Lily felt herself holding back a smile. They had talked about O.W.L.s a lot over the summer but Hermione never seemed to tire of their talks. Harry left after a few moments of them talking. After a few moments, Lily asked the question that had been bugging her for a while.

"Hermione, do you notice anything different about Harry?" asked Lily. Hermione looked at her quizzically.

"Not that I've seen," she answered. "Why?"

"Well, he's been looking really tired lately, more tired than he used to be, and he seems more closed off," said Lily. Hermione thought about it for a moment.

"I haven't really noticed anything, but if it makes you feel any better, I'll keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Thank you," said Lily. "Now, if you don't hurry up you'll be late for you next lesson,"

* * *

James smiled triumphantly as he put up the last camera. They had them all installed now and they would be able to watch the corridors for any visible students or other people after night. James just hoped they didn't catch Harry or any of Harry's friends. 

James jumped off the stool he had been using and began to make his way to the Great Hall to inform Sirius, who had been more of a hindrance rather than a help, that the last camera was up. He couldn't wait to play the cameras tonight.

James walked quickly into the entrance hall. He was just in time for lunch to start. James hurried to the staff table where Sirius was stuffing his face full of any food that he could get his hands on. James made his way up to him.

"It's a success," whispered James to Sirius. Sirius paused for a moment in his eating to nod happily at James before he went back to making himself look worse than a pig. Lily was eating next to Sirius and looked faintly pleased that James had gotten all of the cameras to work. James plopped down in his seat and started eating.

* * *

After Harry had finished all of his lessons for the day, he went to Umbridge's office. The message didn't stay, but the skin was now so red that Harry knew that it was only a matter of time before it got to the point where the words would be engraved on the back of his hand. Harry hurried to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, not noticing a camera watching him.

* * *

Lily had decided to give James and Sirius a break from watching the cameras. They had been working hard at it and Lily decided that they should relax and go to sleep. Around midnight, a red light began to go off, signaling that someone was out of bed. Lily quickly turned off the light, hoping that it didn't wake up James. She stared at the small screen where it showed various hallways and saw Harry heading to a… girl's bathroom? Lily scowled, wondering what he was doing. He entered the bathroom and Lily quickly activated the camera for inside the bathroom. 

As soon as the camera activated, she stared at the screen. It had taken her a few seconds to completely activate it, and in those few seconds Harry was gone. Lily sighed and leaned back in her chair. Where had he gone? There was no other way out of there, was there? Lily thought back to when Harry was talking to him about his adventures at school, hoping that it would give her a hint of why Harry would go into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Wait, Moaning Myrtle's… bathroom? Why did that sound so familiar?

Lily shot up in her chair from her relaxed position. Of course, why didn't she see it before? Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. But why would Harry be down there? Lily pondered this question for a few moments before resuming her watch of the monitors. She tried to think of reasons why Harry would be down there, but none came up. Anyways, she wasn't for sure that Harry was down there anyway.

Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when Harry came up from a tunnel in the sink at around five thirty. Lily scowled. She would have to ask him about this.

* * *

Harry sighed tiredly. He wished that Ice would give him a break every once in a while, but Ice had kept him working through the entire thing. What was worse was that Harry still had homework to do and he already felt like he was going to collapse. 

Harry made his way into the common room. He sat down by the fire and stared into the dying embers for a few moments before getting out his homework and beginning to work on it. He still had a few essays that he needed to do yet and most of them were due today.

Harry worked until Ron and Hermione came down from their dormitories. Harry got up and walked down to the Great Hall with them. They both looked at him with concern, but Harry ignored their looks. He wasn't sure how bad it looked to them, but right now he felt as if he took another step then he would fall asleep standing.

They entered the Great Hall and made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Harry glanced up at the staff table and saw Sirius and James chatting with Professor McGonagall and Remus talking to Professor Sprout. Lily was watching him with narrowed eyes, which Harry found odd seeing as he hadn't done anything wrong, unless you count the Chamber of Secrets, which she didn't know about.

Harry was aware of her eyes on him all through breakfast. After he was done eating, Lily came up to him.

"Harry, may I speak to you privately?" she asked. Harry nodded in confusion and followed her out of the hall. She led him quickly to her office and they both sat down.

"Why did you need to see me, mum?" asked Harry. Lily sighed and leaned back in her chair a little.

"You see, James and Sirius devised a perfect way to catch people out of bounds. They decided to put up security cameras everywhere," said Lily. Harry tensed up, realizing what this meant. "Why were you in the Chamber of Secrets last night?" asked Lily.

"I…"

"You might as well tell me," said Lily.

"Does anyone else know?" asked Harry unhappily.

"No. I was the only one watching the cameras," said Lily. "Why were you down there?"

"It's a really long story,"

"I have time," said Lily. "I can also give you a pass to your next class, so don't worry about that," Harry sighed and began to explain everything to her; the only thing he decided to leave out was how many animagus forms he had. Lily looked amazed when he was done.

"You stole the Sword of Merlin?" she said.

"Well, yeah, and please don't tell anyone," said Harry quickly.

"Fine then, I won't tell anyone. No wonder you've been so tired," Harry glanced at his watch.

"I really need to go now," said Harry. He had already missed his first period class. Lily nodded and quickly wrote him a pass and gave it to him.

* * *

Lily watched Harry go with wide eyes. She had never thought that Harry had done all that stuff! It was a wonder that he was still awake. Lily suddenly jumped up. She had to teach a class this period!

* * *

James sat at the staff table. It was now dinner and he was eating, as usual, like a starved man. He glanced at Lily with concern. She looked like she was worried about something. She was doing a good job at hiding anything, but she still had the small signs that told him that she was worried. James smiled. She had never lost those little habits. 

"What's wrong?" he asked her as he leaned over Sirius to talk to Lily. Sirius scowled as he tried to push James away from him. It didn't work.

"Nothing," said Lily quickly. James smirked. Lily was horrible at lying.

"There's something, come one, tell me, you know you can't lie to save your life," James said.

"It's nothing, James. Don't push it," snapped Lily, stabbing her fork hard at her food. James smiled.

"Yep, it's definitely something. Come on, what will it hurt to tell me?"

"Go away,"

"Now, that isn't very nice. I'm only inquiring about what you're hiding,"

"Like you even know what inquiring means,"

"You wound me, my Lily flower," said James, pretending to be in pain as he held up his hand to his heart. Lily just rolled her eyes and stood up, leaving the table. James got up quickly and began to follow her, trying to get her to tell him what she was keeping from him. Lily just ignored him. She finally got fed up with him, and halfway to her office she turned to him angrily.

"It's not my secret to tell people. If you really want to know, ask Harry, but that's all I'll tell you, and tell him not to blame me for telling you this, because you we're the one not leaving me alone. Now shut up!" snapped Lily. After that outburst she quickly resumed the walk to her office, hoping that Harry wouldn't get mad at her.

James stared after her in confusion. What did she mean, it wasn't her secret to tell? And why did he have to go to Harry? Did something happen to Harry that only Lily knew about? James resolved that he would ask Harry as soon as he could. He didn't know when that would be, but he was hoping that it would be soon seeing as he really wanted the answers.

James began to walk towards the Great Hall again. After a second, he decided to go to his quarters that he shared with Lily, Sirius, and Remus. They had all decided that they would live together, even though they had completely different rooms. They're rooms were all connected by one room, which was their common room. They called their quarters the 'Marauder's Quarters'. It had everything in it, their rooms were connected, and all of the security stuff was in there too so that they could see to it right away. James had tried to put up alarms that alerted them right away if someone was out of bed, but he hadn't been able to do it yet. He was also trying to improve their cameras so that they could see through disillusionment charms and invisibility cloaks, but he hadn't been able to do that either.

Their quarters were set up a lot like the Gryffindor common room. While it didn't have quite the same colors, there were comfy armchairs around a roaring fire and there were a few tables so that they could work on stuff. The room was mostly decorated in reds and golds, but there were some greens in there too, while there were some cream colors that Lily liked with a few other ones. They had decorated their rooms by their tastes. Remus had his room decorated with golds, oranges, blues, and a little green. He refused to put up red, saying that it reminded him a little too much about blood.

Sirius's room was pure Gryffindor. There were reds and golds all around. There might be a few odd colors here or there, but he remained true to his old house. Lily and James's room was decorated in reds, golds, purples, pinks, creams, and blues. Lily said that she wanted to have a variety of colors surrounding the room, and James insisted that they had to have the Gryffindor colors.

James walked into the room happily. He glanced around it once, making sure no one else was there so he wouldn't be taken by surprise, and sat down by the monitors. They showed nothing out of the ordinary, just the few students walking to class, or running to class, seeing as the bell rang a few minutes ago.

James sighed. He was bored. There was nothing to do, so he began to wonder where Sirius was. He was supposed to be here too. At that moment Sirius burst into the room.

"Sorry I'm late, Prongsie, but I had a few things to do," said Sirius as he made his way over to where James sat. James stared at him for a minute, waiting for him to elaborate, but when he didn't, James realized that he would have to ask him.

"Okay then, what were you doing?" asked James.

"Do you really want to know?" asked Sirius.

"Yes!" said James. He knew what was coming next, and he wasn't disappointed.

"None of your business," said Sirius, taking the seat next to him. James glared at him. He hated when he did that, which was almost every time. After asking a few more times, James realized that Sirius wasn't going to be telling him what he was doing, and went back to watching the cameras.

* * *

Harry was coming back from his detention with Umbridge. The writing on his hand had finally stayed on it, and according to Ice it would take a while for the scars to fully heal. Harry groaned at the prospect, but he knew that he couldn't complain. Harry begged Ice to give him a break, especially after Lily had caught him, and Ice finally decided that the rest of the week they would have the nights off, but not the mornings. 

Harry turned the corner and found Ron hiding behind one of the statues. "Ron?" Harry said. Ron jumped and looked at Harry nervously while trying to hide his broom behind his back.

"Erm, hi Harry, what are you doing up so late?"

"Detention, remember? What are you doing up?"

"Well, don't laugh, but I've been thinking about trying out for the quidditch team and I was practicing," said Ron.

"That's great! You're trying out for keeper?"

"Yeah. I'm decent, nothing on Wood though," Harry nodded and they began to walk towards their common room. They shared some small talk, but didn't really talk about much else.

"Harry, what's on your hand?" asked Ron, who had seen the back of Harry's hand when he went to go scratch his nose. Harry attempted to hide it behind his back, but had as much success as Ron did with his broom. "What's she been doing to you? I thought that you just had lines?"

"Well, it is lines technically speaking…"

"And technically speaking, you both should be in your common rooms," came a voice behind them. Harry and Ron spun around, coming face to face with Sirius and James.

"Did you hear what we just said?" asked Harry quickly, hoping that they didn't know about his hand. If they did, they would go bloody ballistic! Unfortunately for Harry, James nodded and grabbed Harry's hand to examine the letters imprinted on his skin. They both were looking livid, and they looked like they were about to murder someone.

"What did she do to you?" snarled Sirius. Harry shifted uneasily.

"Well, she made me write 'I must not tell lies' with a black quill, and the ink was my blood," explained Harry.

"Blood quills were banned by the ministry years ago!" said James angrily. "I swear, when I get my hands on that woman…"

"Don't! I mean, I feel that this is between me and Umbridge," said Harry.

"I don't care, no son of mine will be treated like this!" snapped James. No matter how much Harry begged them not to, they already made their mind up to go pay a visit to Professor Umbridge next morning. Sirius and James quickly herded Harry and Ron to their common rooms and they walked back to their rooms. They had a lot of planning to do if they wanted to get revenge on the toad.

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A/N: So how was it? Please review, I need constructive criticism! Please, please, please, PLEASE review! 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: No, I really don't own Harry Potter, and I don't even see the point of asking anymore.

A/N: Hello! Thanks to all of my reviewers, they really make me happy. I really don't have much to say in here right now, so just enjoy the story!

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**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 13**

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Harry sighed and sat down on his bed in his dormitory. He glanced at his hand and began to wonder what his parents and Sirius were going to do to Umbridge. He knew that it would be quite painful by the way that they were looking, and Harry had a suspicion that they would want to make a scene also. It just seemed like them, and they would want her out of here immediately.

Harry got up and decided to do some homework. He quietly slipped downstairs and slid into a chair by the dying fire. He pulled out one of the essays that he had to work on and began to write. The only sounds in the room were the scratching of his quill and the faint crackling of the fire. So, when a soft voice called out behind him, he naturally jumped and whirled around to face Ginny Weasley, who looked concerned.

"Are you alright, Harry? You look really tired and it's really late right now," she said. Harry smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep and thought that I should do the rest of my homework. What are you doing up?" answered Harry.

"I… I couldn't really sleep either," she stammered. Harry frowned at her hesitancy to answer.

"Ginny, is something wrong?" he asked her. Ginny quickly shook her head. Harry couldn't help but smirk at her.

"Ginny, I have lied about myself being fine for so long that I can tell when other people are lying about their health. That, and you're being painfully obvious," said Harry. It was true, he had said that he was fine about one million times, and almost every time he was in really bad shape, not that he would admit it at the time.

"Fine. I had a nightmare," said Ginny. Harry glanced at her with concern.

"What was it about?" asked Harry. "Talking about it always helped me,"

"Then why don't you ever talk about it?" asked Ginny curiously. Harry gave a sheepish smile.

"You're avoiding my question,"

"It was about… well, it was about the Chamber of Secrets," Ginny admitted. Harry gazed at her sympathetically.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry that I wasn't there that summer when you were trying to get over the Chamber of Secrets incident. I should have been there for you, and I wasn't,"

"It's okay Harry, what's done is done. I do get nightmares every once in a while, but usually not anymore," said Ginny. "There's no need to beat yourself up over it," Harry looked at her skeptically but nodded. Ginny gave him a smile. "So why are you really down here?"

"I… couldn't sleep," said Harry again, but this time a little more hesitant, which Ginny picked up on.

"Alright, I told you the truth about me, now it's your turn," she said sternly.

"Well… it's just… erm… okay, if you really want to know the truth, you can't tell anyone," said Harry. Ginny nodded. "Well, I don't want to go to sleep. I can't sleep or else I'll be plagued with nightmares about Cedric and other things that I really don't want to talk about," said Harry. Now it was Ginny's turn to look sympathetic.

"Really? Well, I'll stay down here with you to keep you company," said Ginny, sitting down and pulling out some of her homework that she had brought with her. They sat in a companionable silence for a while; just doing homework and enjoying the peace while it lasted.

Before long, Ginny began to get tired and dozed off every once in a while. When Harry suggested that she should get some sleep, Ginny snapped at him to be quiet and that she would only go to sleep if he did. In the end, Harry decided to humor her and went up to his dormitory so she would go up to her and get a proper rest. When he slipped into his bed he pulled out his homework again and began to do it while lying on his stomach.

He crossed out an incorrect fact and thought that he heard the door open, but brushed it off as nothing. He jumped when he felt a hand in his shoulder and looked up to see Ginny staring at him with triumphant eyes.

"Ha! I knew that you wouldn't go to sleep. You're way to stubborn to do anything like that," whispered Ginny as she sat down on the edge.

"What are you doing up here? Aren't you supposed to be in your own dormitory?" asked Harry. Ginny scowled at him.

"I'm here to make sure you go to sleep. I'll stay here all night if I have to," said Ginny. It was Harry's turn to scowl at her.

"Ginny, go back to the girl's dormitory. You can't force me to sleep and I would rather not have to keep you up all night," said Harry. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him and lay down next to him.

"I'm ready to stay," said Ginny. Harry glared at her but quickly put away all of his school supplies and lay down by Ginny. It suddenly struck Harry that this could be considered very inappropriate and Ron would kill him if he saw him like this. Harry voiced these thoughts to Ginny, who laughed.

"I couldn't care less what Ron thinks of me. Anyways, you need me more right now," said Ginny. Harry smiled at her, and after a while they both fell asleep. The next morning when Ice woke Harry up, Harry had to quickly wake Ginny up too to get her to go up the stairs. Oddly enough, Harry didn't have a nightmare while Ginny was sleeping next to him.

* * *

James glanced at Harry curiously when he came into the hall. He was with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry seemed to be avoiding looking at Ginny and they would both blush a little when they looked at each other, causing them to glance away when they met each other's eyes. James couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between them. He wouldn't doubt it, it seemed as though those two were made for each other.

James got up from the staff table and began to go back to his room. He still needed to monitor the cameras, as Sirius usually liked to do things like sleep or play his all time favorite game, prank Snivellus.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione left Ginny and began to go to their next class, which was transfiguration. They slid into their seats and began to discuss a topic that had always come up in this class: grades. Hermione would go on and on about how they needed to improve their grades in this class and Ron would go on and on about how Hermione needed to shut up. In the end Harry always tuned them out, not that they noticed. They were doing the banishing charm today, and Harry was the first one to get the hang of it, seeing as he had done a lot of banishing in the Chamber of Secrets, banishing the rocks (he was going to banish the basilisk too as soon as he got all of the ingredients out of it).

Hermione glared at him when they were done with the lesson. She was used to being at the top of the class and never appreciated it when someone else did something before her or better then her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly went down into the dungeons for their potions lesson. They narrowly avoided being late and sat down in their usual seat in the back of the dungeon. Snape set them a hard potion then began to stalk around the room. Harry tried hard to get the potion right, and was pleased to see that he at least had the right color to it, which was a pale blue, rather then Ron's, who had a deep purple. Though, Ron did have a better potion then Neville, who had his potion a sickly yellow while bubbling and spitting out orange and red sparks.

Harry felt sympathetic for Neville, seeing as Snape instantly went over to insult him, not even glancing at Crabbe's cauldron, which was overflowing and a sticky looking gray. While Snape insulted Neville's potion, Harry tried desperately to find out how to get his potion back to the right thickness, right now it was too thin. As Snape stopped berating Neville and came over to their table, he passed over Hermione's without a comment and paused at Ron's to tell him off. Snape stopped at Harry's when he was done with Ron.

"I suppose you added the beetle's eyes a few seconds before you were supposed to? Stupid boy," snarled Snape. Snape didn't really have anything to say after that, so Snape just went back to Neville.

* * *

James waited eagerly for the fun to begin. He had done a lot to get Umbridge in trouble, and now was fairly sure that he could get her out of the school. No one but Sirius knew what he was going to do right now, or what someone else was going to do. All he had to do was sit back and wait for them to come.

James slowly ate his dinner. He was getting tired of waiting, even though it had only been five minutes since the meal had stared. At that moment the doors to the Great Hall banged open and a dozen aurors came into the hall. Dumbledore jumped up in surprise and Umbridge looked confused, as did the rest of the student body and most of the teachers. One of the aurors cleared their throat and began to read off of a piece of parchment.

"Dolores Jane Umbridge, you are hereby sentenced to a trail at the ministry of magic on October 16th to testify for your crimes against the student body," he read. The entire hall was silent.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Umbridge screamed suddenly.

"It has come to our attention that you are using an illegal blood quill against the students," said the auror. Umbridge smiled sweetly.

"I'm afraid you must have made a mistake," she said. James stood up at that point.

"Don't worry, there's been no mistake," he said. Everyone's attention was turned to him and he could see Harry putting his head in his hands, seeming to know what would come next.

"What are you talking about, Auror Potter?" said Umbridge, her tone beginning to become even sweeter.

"Why, I'm talking about the detentions you put my son through. He even has the marks on the back of his hand," said James. At this, most of the students turned their attention on Harry. One of the aurors made a motion, indicating that he should hold out his hand. Harry did so, and the auror looked disapprovingly at the marks on it.

"Yep, the marks are there alright," said the auror. At this, there were some mutterings around the hall.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" screamed Umbridge. The auror looked at her like it was obvious what they were talking about.

"The marks are right here, Professor Umbridge. See, 'I must not tell lies'," said the auror, reading off of the back of his hand. Lily gave a stifled gasp at this and began to turn red with anger. That seemed to be the reaction of many of the students and teachers too. Dumbledore's twinkle in his eyes had vanished and many of the students were shouting at Umbridge. Umbridge looked livid.

"THERE IS NO PROOF! I NEVER DID ANY OF THIS!" shrieked Umbridge. Her face had gone red with anger and she was advancing on the aurors. The aurors gave her bored looks.

"We will escort you from the building," said one of the aurors, and they led a protesting Umbridge from the room by the arm. Some of the students cheered as she left.

"Well then, I guess that this means I need a new defense teacher," said Dumbledore, the twinkle back in his eye.

* * *

Harry escaped from the stares of his house by fleeing up into the dorm room. He had been asked all day if it was true what the aurors said about Umbridge, and many times people had asked him to see the scars. Harry had enough of it, it was hard enough with all of the O.W.L.s that they had to study for, but now with him being even more famous around the school he barely had time for anything.

Harry sighed and glanced at the time. It was about 9:00 and he decided to go back down into the common room with his invisibility cloak and sneak out to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry quickly grabbed his cloak and flung it around his head and began to make his way down to the portrait hole. Luck was on his side, as a few second year girls came into the portrait hole just as he was leaving so he didn't look suspicious.

Harry walked briskly down the hall. He was determined to get to the Chamber as quickly as possible. He had persuaded his mother to not come down into it with him, he had to remind her quite a few times that he needed to do this alone, however little she wanted him to. He also didn't want her to get hurt, which when he pointed that out to her he got a serious tongue-lashing.

Harry opened up the sink and slid down into the slide. He sped along the pipe and came out into the opening. He walked along the Chamber and glanced at the side corridors, mentally reminding himself to check them out when he got the chance. He went into the main chamber and instantly began to harvest ingredients. After another couple of hours, Harry stretched his back, which was aching from bending over the corpse for so long. He was almost done with it, or at least almost done with it in Ice's standard, which means that it'll take a few days to go through.

Harry was pleased with all of the things that he had gotten out of the basilisk. He had venom, eyes, scales, fangs, and some other useful things. He knew that these were very valuable and could make him a fortune, maybe over a few million galleons for one fang. Harry began to collect some more stuff from the corpse. He stayed down there until four in the morning, when he went back to the common room and tried to do the rest of his homework, but fell asleep on the table instead.

* * *

Lily frowned when she saw Harry walk into the hall the next morning. He looked like he was about to fall asleep, but didn't show it at all. Lily had to admit that he had a lot of stamina to keep up appearances like that, even Hermione hadn't noticed! The only one other than her that had noticed was Ginny, who was looking at Harry with concerned eyes. The newspaper was delivered and Lily read through it, but found nothing of any importance.

Lily glanced at James. He was cheerful today, most likely from kicking Umbridge from out of the school yesterday. But then she saw why he was really happy, she noticed that Severus Snape wasn't at the staff table and neither were the Slytherins. Lily glanced at James suspiciously, but he just gave her a smile.

At that moment, Snape and the rest of the Slytherins burst into the room looking livid. Every single one of them was wearing lurid pink robes. Snape and all of the girls had pigtails in their hair and all of the boys had their hair lengthened to have two braids on either side of their head. Lily had to admit though, it did look hilarious. Snape stalked up to James while looking like he was going to murder someone.

"Turn us back!" he snarled. James feigned innocence.

"What are you talking about? I had nothing to do with this, it's not my choice what you chose to wear," said James. Snape glared at him.

"I know that it was you, who else could have done it?" snapped Snape.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe you chose it to wear for the day instead of your usual black? I mean, pink is in, from what I hear. So really, you have nothing to worry about," said James.

"Just change us back!" snarled Snape, his hand flying to the pocket where his wand was in. James just smirked at him.

"I won't if you don't say please!" said James in a singsong voice, sounding awfully like Peeves. Snape was red with anger. Thankfully, Dumbledore stood up before blood began to spill. He quickly waved his wand and everyone's clothes were back to normal. James scowled at the headmaster.

"Now, now, we don't need people to get hurt over one harmless prank," said Dumbledore. Snape snorted.

"Harmless? Headmaster, please fire him, he's a disgrace to the school," snapped Snape.

"What do you mean, disgrace? If anyone is a disgrace, it's you for being a horrible teacher. At least I protect the students and not ruin their future because you're a sour bat," said James. Snape gave James one final glare and stalked out of the room. Across the room, Harry groaned and was heard saying, "I have potions today,"

* * *

Harry sat at his table in the back of the room as usual in the dungeons. The class was waiting for Snape to come in, as he wasn't here yet. Harry was dreading what was going to happen to him after all that had happened at breakfast. At that moment, Snape came in, banging the door hard and making his robes swish in a frightening manner. Harry wondered vaguely where Snape learned to do that before turning to the task at hand. Snape set the a hard task then headed straight for Harry's table and stood by his side, criticizing what he was doing and how he was doing it even though right now he was doing a little better than Hermione, who kept giving him annoyed glances.

"Pathetic, Potter. You can't even stir right," sneered Snape, watching as Harry stirred the potion inside of the cauldron. Harry's knuckles tightened around the stick he was using to stir with, making them turn a white color. Ice spoke up from his bag.

_/Can I please bite him/ _Harry couldn't respond, but 'accidentally' hit his bag hard; making sure that it rattled Ice.

"What was that, Potter?" snapped Snape suddenly. Harry looked up at him innocently.

"What was what Professor?"

"That hissing noise," snarled Snape. Harry realized that he must have heard Ice speaking to him, and tried to keep calm.

"It was probably someone adding something wrong to their potion, but you wouldn't know that seeing as you've been standing at my potion all lesson," said Harry calmly.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter," snarled Snape, glaring at Harry. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was nothing knew to him. Snape glared at him even harder, if possible, and swept away to bully Neville. At the end of the lesson they had lost a total of fifty points.

Harry walked briskly down the hall, telling Ron and Hermione that he would catch up to them. He walked into the common room and grabbed his firebolt. He need to go for a fly so he could just relax. He headed out of the castle and went onto the pitch. He took off into the air and it seemed that all of his worries were left on the ground. He wasn't tired anymore, he wasn't hungry anymore, and he was in his natural element. After about an hour of flying he went back into the castle. Since he didn't have any detentions with Umbridge that he had to go to, he could do some homework, which was piling up at an alarming rate, and the first week hadn't even ended, though tomorrow was Friday.

Harry sat down at one of the tables in the corner so he wouldn't be distracted by anyone. After a while Ron and Hermione came through the portrait hole and made their way over to him. They both sat down and pulled out their homework. They worked in silence, Ron everyone once in a while asking Hermione what something was. After a little while Ron excused himself and went up to the dormitory, Hermione soon following after. As the hours ticked by more people left the common room and before long the place was empty. Harry hurried upstairs and grabbed his cloak.

Harry walked briskly to the Chamber. He should be able to finish off the basilisk tonight and maybe even try to practice his animagus transformations, which he had been neglecting lately. He hadn't been making many improvements on it. So far he had been able to get a very small patch of scales on his arm from the dragon, a few patches of feathers on his body from the hawk, his hair to turn a golden color for the lion, his ears to turn like a ferret's, and three golden feathers from the phoenix.

Harry began to work on the basilisk. After a few hours he finally had gotten every ingredient that he could from it. He sighed and stretched his sore muscles from standing over the basilisk all night. He glanced at his watch and got a start at the time on it. It was twelve midnight, but it felt much later. Harry began to wonder if he could take a break right now and just sleep, but glancing at Ice, he decided not to. Under Ice's instruction, he began to vanish the corpse. It was large and very hard to do, so it took the rest of the night to just vanish half of it. Harry climbed out of the Chamber around six in the morning and decided to treat himself by sleeping a little.

* * *

Lily watched as Harry and his friends entered the Great Hall. She saw that Harry was in a good mood and guessed that something good had happened. She smiled as she saw Harry laugh happily. She loved Harry's laugh. James turned to her.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked suspiciously. Lily glanced at him before turning to her plate.

"Nothing that would concern you," said Lily. James stuck his tongue out at her and Lily couldn't help but laugh at his childishness. James gave a triumphant look at her for making her laugh and turned back to his plate also. Lily poked at her eggs for a moment before getting up to get ready for her next class. All day as she taught, her mind kept wandering. She wasn't sure why, but she thought that something was going to happen soon that she wouldn't like. She frowned and kept at her lecture to the second years that she was teaching.

After she was done teaching for the day, she hurried down to the quidditch pitch where they were having tryouts. She sat in the stands and before long people began to file on the pitch. James and Sirius joined her. She glanced around looking for Remus, but didn't see him anywhere.

"Where's Remus?" she asked.

"Where else? We needed someone to look over the cameras and seeing as he really doesn't fancy quidditch that much he was perfect for the job," answered Sirius. Lily scowled at him.

"Isn't it your job to watch the cameras and not his?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, we aren't the responsible marauders," said James. Lily just shook her head and began to watch the tryouts. As time wore on they seemed to finally decide who was going to play the keeper position. To Lily's surprise, Ron made the position. She had thought that there were a few people who were better for the position, but Ron had been better than most of the people who tried out for the spot.

Lily, James, and Sirius went back up to the school. Harry and Ron caught up to them about halfway there and they were all forced to endure Ron rambling about his new place on the team. By the time that they all needed to split up even James was tired of all of the quidditch talk. Lily checked her watch. It was seven in the evening. She leaned toward Harry.

"Hey, Harry, do you think that you could grab your invisibility cloak and I could see the Chamber with you?" whispered Lily into his ear. Harry looked unsure for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to? The smell from the basilisk is horrible seeing as I haven't managed to completely get the stench out yet, and the corpse is still there," said Harry.

"I still want to go," said Lily. Harry sighed and nodded.

"I'll get you from Marauder's Quarters at seven thirty with the cloak," said Harry. Lily nodded and Harry headed towards his common room. Lily set off at a brisk pace to the Marauder's Quarters.

As soon as she got there she couldn't seem to sit still. Ever since Harry had told her about the Chamber of Secrets she had been curious about it and before she found out about Harry visiting it had been wondering if she could ask him to take her there. She must have seemed nervous, because James came over to her with a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Lily? You're all fidgety and nervous tonight," said James. Lily smiled at him.

"I'm fine James," she said to him. James raised his eyebrow.

"No you're not, I can tell. So, what's on your mind," he said.

"I told you, I'm fine. Stop asking," she snapped at him. Sirius glanced up from where he was sitting.

"Don't bother asking her James, she probably won't tell you," he advised. James shot a glare over in Sirius's direction.

"Oh, shut up Padfoot, I think I know my own wife," he snapped. Remus snorted from where he was at the monitors. James glared at him too. At that moment Harry saved her when he came through the portrait. Lily jumped up and grabbed him happily while dragging him out of the room, leaving three confused Marauders.

"Thank Merlin you came when you did, Harry," she said. "I don't think that I could have stood another moment of those three,"

"Well, are you ready to go in the Chamber?" he asked as he swung the cloak over their shoulders. Lily nodded excitedly. Harry led them to the bathroom and went straight to the sinks. Harry hissed at it and it opened into a tunnel. Lily took a deep breath.

"Can I go first?" she asked. When Harry nodded, she quickly slid herself in the pipe and let go of the ledge. She instantly sped down to the bottom and came out of the slide. She quickly moved out of the way of Harry who came down after her. She wrinkled her nose at all of the bones and slime down here. It really was a mess.

"Sorry, but I haven't really gotten around to cleaning it that good," said Harry, seeing her disgust. Lily nodded and together they set down the corridor. They soon came to the main Chamber, where Lily felt herself start gagging from the smell. Harry looked to be barely effected by it. He shrugged when she looked at him questioningly.

"You get used to it after a while," he answered her unasked question. After adjusting to the horrid stench of the basilisk, Lily began to look around the Chamber. She couldn't help but feel awed at it. She watched as Ice slid out from Harry's bag and hissed at him. Harry began trying to vanish the rest of the basilisk. Lily asked if she could help, but Harry just shook his head and told her that Ice wanted him to do it by himself. Lily nodded and began to look around the Chamber more closely.

After a while she glanced at her watch and realized that she needed to get going. When she told Harry this, he nodded and led her out of the Chamber and back up to the bathroom. Lily made Harry promise to take her back there sometime, and with that Lily went back to Marauder's Quarters to get some sleep.

* * *

A/N: Well, how was it? Please review! To get better, I need constructive critisim! I need reviews! 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Why bother asking when the answer is always the same?

A/N: Well, here's another chapter. In these chapters there will be more of Harry than Lily or James, but I will try to keep them in each chapter. Also, one reviewer asked when are Ginny and Harry are going to get together? My response is that while I support that couple, I don't think that they should just go and realize they love each other. Their relationship is going to be longer than that, but you will be seeing more of Harry and Ginny around Christmas. I will try to update every two weeks, but I can't promise anything. Also, I apologise to anyone who was happy to see Umbridge gone because I'm probably going to bring her back. I need her for the story, but look at the bright side, this just means that James and Sirius will be able to prank her even more! Also, Harry is not getting enough sleep, but is trying to catch up even though he doesn't have much time. I will try to let Harry get more sleep in the future, but he still won't get quite as much as he should.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 14

* * *

**

Lily sighed as she lay down in bed. She had seen the Chamber of Secrets a few hours ago and she couldn't get it out of her mind. It was a really good place to go when you didn't want to speak with anyone, but a really bad place if there's an emergency and you needed to be found, but no one could find you.

Lily began to ponder what would happen if someone needed to find Harry but he was in the Chamber. She knew that no one would be able to find him down there, so if there was an emergency than the only hope they would have is that he would eventually come up and find them.

Lily glanced at the clock. It was midnight. She wondered if Harry was still down in the Chamber, but found her thoughts wandering away from the Chamber and Harry to Ginny. She seemed like the only one who noticed how tired and exhausted Harry was lately. Lily smiled at that thought. It was obvious that Harry and Ginny were going to get together. She just wondered when Harry and Ginny would realize it.

* * *

Harry sat down on the floor of the Chamber. He had finally finished vanishing it and was hoping that Ice would give him a break and let him go back to the common room. Ice slithered over to where he was sitting. 

_/That was a pretty good job/ _Ice commented.

_/Thank you/_

_/I think that we should clean the rest of the place up now/_

_/But can't I go back to my dormitory to get some sleep/ _

_/Fine, but only because you finished vanishing the basilisk. Don't expect me to go easy on you in the future/ _Harry smiled and opened his bag so Ice could slither into it. After Ice had gotten situated in his bag, he began to go up the tunnel to the bathroom. He made his way down to Gryffindor tower and went through the portrait hole. He went straight to his dormitory and fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed without even putting on his pajamas.

* * *

James sighed and rolled over in bed, woken up from the sun streaming in through the window. He glanced over to his wife and saw her still asleep. _'That's weird, she's usually up before me,' _thought James. He stared at her for a few more seconds before she stirred, then sat up. She looked groggily at him for a moment, before glancing at the clock. Her eyes widened in shock at the time. 

"What made you so tired that I woke up before you?" asked James. He had barely ever seen this happen before.

"Nothing! It has to be you, I always wake up before you!" said Lily. She stared suspiciously over at him for a minute before getting up to start changing. James also got up and stumbled to the bathroom.

Soon both Lily and James were walking up to the staff table so they could get breakfast. Lily smiled at Harry, who was already sitting at the Gryffindor table. He looked like he had gotten a little sleep last night. Lily and James sat down and began to eat. James glanced up as the post owls began streaming through the windows. The Daily Prophet landed in front of James and he picked it up and took a sip of orange juice, only to spit it out at the cover of the paper.

**Minister Corrects Error!**

**By: Rita Skeeter**

_At a press conference, the minister of magic corrects a mistake made by James Potter. James Potter thought that Dolores Umbridge had done illegal acts, such as use a blood quill against students. Minister Fudge soon put a stop to such rumors and told us what he says is the truth, that it was all a mistake and that Umbridge hadn't done anything of the sort against any student. "James Potter must have gotten the wrong information. Dolores Umbridge is a law-abiding citizen who would never do anything against the law," said Fudge at the press conference. Fudge also says that now the misunderstanding is smoothed out Dolores Umbridge will be returning to her post at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She has also accepted the role of high inquisitor at Hogwarts, which is the role of educational reform. She will be evaluating the Professors at Hogwarts to make sure that each teacher is fair to the students and teaching what needs to be taught. For more on the High Inquisitor post, please turn to page 13._

There were gasps among the Hogwarts students as they read the article. Many were shaking their heads in disapproval, others were looking thoughtfully at the article, wondering if this is a good idea or not. James felt his temper rising, until it exploded. The paper in his hands, similar to what Harry did over the summer, burst into flames, even though then Harry had his wand and he didn't. Many of the students jumped and looked at him fearfully. James' eyes connected to Sirius' and they seemed to agree with each other on something. They both got up and began to walk at a fast pace out of the hall. The candle's flames rose a few inches as he passed them, and as he reached the doors the doors banged open of their own accord. The students watched fearfully, even some of the Slytherins as James and Sirius walked out of the hall.

Sirius still had the paper in his hand. He ripped it open and glanced at something. Then he turned to James. "It says that there is a press conference going on with the dear minister right now. Shall we crash their party?" asked Sirius, a crazy gleam in his eyes. James suddenly realized why Sirius was put in jail, as he was looking like a criminal in every aspect, except for the fact that he didn't do anything illegal. James nodded; he was going to put everything straight.

They walked out the door and went straight to the apparation point at the edge of the grounds. They quickly apparated to the place where the press conference was being held. An Auror tried to stop them from going in, but one glare in his direction quickly put a stop to any arguments. They walked inside the building where it was taking place and began to make their way up to the stage that Fudge was on. Right now Fudge was answering questions that a reporter was asking.

"Yes, I do think that the position of the High Inquisitor will work, I think that it will help us tokick out the teachers that are incompetent," said Fudge into the microphone. James and Sirius finally made it to the stage.

"We don't think it will work," said Sirius loudly. At this, most of the reporters quieted and watched as James and Sirius calmly climbed onto the stage.

"What are you two doing here! Aurors, seize this man for trespassing on my press conference!" snapped Fudge. At this, the aurors backed away from a glare that James sent them.

"Now then, we're here to set the record straight. I'm sure the reporters want to hear what really happened," said James. The reporters, who were now completely silent, nodded eagerly. James gave them a grin and pushed Fudge away from the microphone.

"What really happened was that Dolores Umbridge really did use a blood quill, against my son and others. She was, of course, doing this on orders by the minister. The minister denies that Voldemort is back," here James paused to let the screams die down from the name, "So he thought that if he gains control of Hogwarts then Dumbledore wouldn't be a problem. Dumbledore is the one who insists that Voldemort is back, and he is right because my son saw him come back.

"Fudge doesn't want to acknowledge that Voldemort is back, so he began to call the people who knew the truth delusional and crazy even though they weren't. He wanted to overthrow Dumbledore so that the ministry could control Hogwarts. He even stationed an incompetent teacher there, Dolores Umbridge, so that she could lie to the students and try to get them to believe that they're crazy. All she had the defense class do was read books and do other things that will never help anyone. That's the truth," said James. The reporters were all writing as fast as they could so that they could get this all down in the next edition of the Prophet.

James smiled and slipped off with Sirius. Their work here was done; they would let Fudge try to clean up his ruined reputation.

* * *

Harry glanced up as James and Sirius entered the Great Hall at lunchtime grinning. To Harry that meant that either they pulled a prank or they succeeded at something, and Harry knew that they probably succeeded at whatever they had set out to do at breakfast. He could see Lily questioning them, but it didn't look like they were saying what was going on. Harry shrugged and went back to his food. They would tell him when the time came. 

Since today was Saturday, Hermione made them do homework all day. When she finally let them off,he went enthusiastically to Marauder's Quarters to visit his parents, Godfather, and Remus. They were all there, sitting around basically doing nothing. Harry joined them in lazing around until it was time to go to Quidditch practice. After practicing for a while, they decided to go back to the castle.

It was dark by the time they were done so they went back up to the castle right after it was finished. Harry separated himself from his friends when they got back to the common room and grabbed his bag so he could go down to the Chamber of Secrets. No one saw him leave, so he escaped people asking where he was going. He walked at a brisk pace to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and soon enough he was there and opening up the Chamber. He had bribed Myrtle to not say anything, promising her that he would talk with her every once in a while. He slid down the slide and came out of the pipe covered in slime. Harry mentally added cleaning the pipe on his list of things to do.

Harry got startedon cleaning the place up. He started with the entrance and slowly worked his way to the main part of the Chamber. By the time he had reached it the place had been cleaned of any slime, dirt, and animal bones. He looked unhappily at all of the pipes that led all over the chamber, and as far as he could tell, school. He bet that they went all over the place, and he would have to clean them. He knew that it would never get done that way, so he would train most the night then clean a few hours. It was already midnight and he hadn't quite finished the main chamber. By the time he was done it was five in the morning. He would have to do some redecorating, he thought as he looked around the chamber.

He went back to the common room after a quick chat with Myrtle. When he got back to the common room, he looked around to make sure no one was up and sat down to do the rest of his homework. After a while he began to notice the lack of students and wondered where they were, until he realized that it was Saturday. Harry felt like banging his head against the desk. How could have he forgotten? He had all day to do his homework!

Harry quickly packed up his bag again and went up to his dormitory. He got dressed into his pajamas and quickly fell asleep.

A few hours later Ron shook him awake. Harry looked up groggily at Ron and saw sun pouring in through the window. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was noon already. Harry jumped up and began to get dressed.

Harry went back to the common room with Ron. Hermione was waiting down there with Ginny. Harry looked between them suspiciously, wondering why they were all looking nervous.

"Um, Harry, we were just wondering, is there anything wrong with you?" asked Hermione slowly. Harry stared at her for a moment.

"Of course not, Hermione," he answered. Why would they be asking him that…?

"Well, it's just that you seem to always be tired and, no offense, but you're always getting your homework in on time and stuff," said Ron awkwardly.

"What? Is something wrong with that?" he asked irritably.

"No, nothing's wrong with that, we were just wondering when you get the time to do this," said Ginny quickly. Harry sighed exasperated.

"I make time. I haven't been concentrating on things like quidditch, more on my homework then anything. I guess my mom really has been rubbing off on me," answered Harry. He hadn't realized that they had noticed anything. Ginny glanced suspicoisly at him, but Ron and Hermione seemed to be satisfied at this answer and began to chat about what they were going to do today. Ron wanted to go play quidditch, but Hermione wanted to do homework. Harry listened to them bicker for a few moments before deciding to intervene.

"How about this, we do our homework for a few hours then we go play quidditch," Harry suggested. Hermione looked pleased with this idea while Ron didn't.

"Harry, you're turning into Hermione," said Ron with disgust. In a flash, Hermione was shouting at him. Harry and Ginny exchanged amused glances before going to lunch, leaving Ron and Hermione in the common room alone.

Harry and Ginny walked down to lunch in silence. Harry decided to try to talk to her, as he realized with a start that he didn't know much about her. Before long, they were both in a deep conversation about quidditch. Harry learned that Ginny's favorite position was chaser, but she would play seeker if asked. As they approached the doors to the Great Hall, Harry thought his stomach flipped like it did with Cho, except that this was Ginny. Harry quickly cast aside this feeling and walked into the Great Hall. They soon separated and Harry sat by Dean and Neville while Ginny sat with a few of her friends. Seamus wasn't talking to Harry because they had had an argument about Voldemort being back after the opening feast.

Soon, Harry went to quidditch practice with Ron. Ron didn't do very well at it, and Harry decided that he would try to help him more with it. Harry was able to drag James, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and a few other Gryffindors out for a small game, and while Ron still did pretty bad, Harry thought that he was doing a bit better after that.

Hermione dragged them off to do homework after that. Harry couldn't help but to smile at that. Some things just never really change, he thought. It was already past dinner when they headed to the castle to get their homework done, so they decided just to head up to the common room. They started working on their homework quickly. Hermione was impressed by how much he already had done and even let him borrow notes for Binns class, which she had threatened to not do.

By nine o'clock most had gone up to bed, including Ron. Hermione soon went up to her dormitory also. Harry went to his dormitory and grabbed the invisibility cloak. He hurried down to the Chamber of Secrets. Ice, who had been sleeping around his shoulders, woke up with the quick movement. Harry began the task of cleaning the rest of the Chamber today. Soon, he had the tunnel cleaned, the tunnels leading to the main chamber cleaned and cleared of rocks, the basilisk was now ingredients, the main chamber was spotless, and anything else he could think of.

Harry soon had a good enough area to work in. Though the Chamber was really tall, there wasn't enough room for him to practice his dragon animagus, only enough room to do it for a while until it began to get very big. Ice soon had him working hard the rest of the night with the sword and doing other exercises. Harry hadn't really improved with his animagus forms, as he hadn't really been practicing. Ice made him work on those too, but he didn't get much progress in. At five in the morning Ice finally let Harry go back to the common room and get some sleep.

* * *

James smirked as he read the Daily Prophet. On the front page was James and Sirius insulting the minister. The press were having a field day with this story. It was rumored that Fudge was going to get kicked out of office. James knew that he would find some way to hang onto it as long as he could, and that it would take a while for Fudge to get out of position. Unfortuantly, Umbridge was still going to teach here, no matter what anyone said. 

James glared down the table where Umbridge sat. He had made it clear to her that if she ever touched or threatened his family then she would have him to deal with. He threatened her so much that she still looked severly shaken, and he had threatened her an hour or two ago.

James glanced down the Gryffindor table. Harry was glaring at Umbridge with Ron, while Hermione was reading a book. The rest of the table seemed unaffected, but every once in a while someone would throw a thumbs up in his direction. Most people were satisfied with what he and Sirius had done. Lily looked on disapprovingly, but he could tell that she was happy with what he had done. James threw a look at Harry again. It wasMonday and for some reason he looked tired, even though he was covering it up very well. For a moment, James wondered what was going on with his son, but before long pushed those thoughts away.

* * *

The defense against the dark arts class was slowly getting worse. Umbridge would always try to find something wrong that Harry was doing, but could find nothing to use against him. She tried to catch him doing something against the rules, but couldn't find anything. It annoyed Harry to no end. He already had enough homework as it was, he had training with Ice, quidditch practice, tutoring with his mother (she still thought that his grades weren't good enough even though they had improved drastically), animagus training every once in a while with his dad, and other things. Harry was barely sleeping anymore, the only time he really got a good sleep was in history of magic. To top it all off, Ginny was beginning to suspect something. 

Before long, September turned into October and a Hogsmeade trip was coming up. Another thing was soon added to his hectic schedule by Hermione one day.

"Harry! Over here!" called Hermione over the heads of students in the common room. Harry made his way over to where Hermione and Ron sat in a corner. Harry felt bad for not spending more time with them, but he didn't know when he could. They sat down and started doing their homework, Ron every once in a while asked Hermione for help. When the common room was pretty much cleared Hermione set down her quill and stared at Harry for a moment until he noticed.

"What?" he asked.

"Um, Harry, we were wondering what we should do about Umbridge," said Hermione.

"I suggested poison," said Ron grimly.

"No… I was wondering what we should do about her being a dreadful teacher," said Hermione. Ron shrugged.

"What can we do about that? She already has the job," said Ron.

"No, I was just thinking, maybe we should just… do it ourselves," said Hermione. Harry stared at her, knowing where this was going.

"You want me to teach you," he said bluntly. Hermione blushed at how quickly and easily he had gotten it, but nodded. Harry shook his head.

"There's no way I can. I barely know anything, most of the stuff I did was luck and having help at the right time. Anyways, I don't have any time to teach you this stuff. It is just you, right?" he added, suddenly suspicious. Hermione shifted nervously in her seat.

"Well, I was talking to a few others about it-," she started. Harry quickly cut her off.

"What do you mean, you've been talking to others? I haven't even agreed to anything yet!" Harry almost shouted. Hermione looked taken aback.

"But Harry, I thought that you would want to do it, seeing as how much you like defense against the dark arts," she said.

"Half of the stuff I do is luck! I don't like being the hero! I already have enough stuff to do!" he shouted at her. Ron suddenly smirked.

"What do you mean half the stuff you do is luck? What about the sorcerer's stone? And the basilisk? And a hundred dementors? And facing you-know-who?" he said. Harry felt his temper rising.

"Like I said! Half of that was luck! If you guys hadn't been with me for the sorcerer's stone I wouldn't have been able to go through it! And Dumbledore showed up in the end too! Fawkes saved me in the Chamber! And the dementors were a fluke with the time turner! And if there wasn't priori incantatum then I would be dead!" Harry yelled. Ron and Hermione shook their heads at him, still smirking.

"STOP LAUGHING!" he yelled at them. "You don't know what it's like, facing what could be your death. You think it's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him? The whole time you're sure you're going to die, that nothing stands in your way of death. You think that they teach this kind of stuff in class?" Harry snarled. The smiled had long ago vanished on Ron and Hermione's faces.

"Harry, we're sorry, but you're right, they don't teach this kind of stuff in class and you know what it feels like! You can help us prepare for… for… _Voldemort_," she said. Harry stared at her, amazed that she had called him by his name. Harry sighed.

"I'll think about it. But that doesn't mean anything. Even if I do agree to it I have no clue when I can possibly teach this stuff. And where would I teach this stuff? We can't really use a classroom…" Harry muttered to himself, feeling a headache coming on. He began to rub his temples as he went up the stairs to the boy's dormitorys. He grabbed his cloak and began to head to the Marauder's Quarters. He definelty needed to talk to someone about this.

He went into the Quarters without knocking. Remus and Sirius, who were both at the monitors looked up and straight through him, wondering who was there. Harry took the cloak off and comprehension dawned in their eyes.

"Hi Harry. What are you doing here?" asked Remus.

"Hi. I just needed someone to talk to. Is mum here?" he asked. He felt like he could tell his mother anything after he told her what was happening with the Chamber and everything.

"Lily? Hmm… she might be here," said Remus thoughtfully. Sirius turned around in his chair and looked at the door that Lily and James's room was and yelled through the door.

"Oy! Lily, are you there!" yelled Sirius. There was some shuffling behind the door and Lily came out of it, looking annoyed.

"What do you want Sirius? If this is another question about pigs, I swear I will hurt you," said Lily. Sirius pretended to look wounded.

"Why, Miss Flower, you wound me with your harsh words," said Sirius dramatically, hand over his heart. Lily rolled her eyes then spotted Harry.

"Oh, hi Harry. Aren't you supposed to be in your common room?" she asked. Harry ignored her question.

"Hi mum. I was just wondering if I could talk to you," said Harry. Lily nodded and pulled Harry into her bedroom while setting up some silencing spells around the room so Sirius and Remus wouldn't be able to hear.

"Where's dad?" asked Harry.

"Oh, he's somewhere around here," said Lily dismissedly. Harry nodded. He quickly explained to Lily what had all happened in the past day. Lily thought for a moment before responding.

"It almost sounds like Hermione manipulated you into it," said Lily.

"I think that she really wants to pass her O.W.L. and she figures that I'm the only one who can really help her," said Harry. Lily nodded.

"That makes sense. I think you should do it, just to experience some teaching and learn how to speak better in front of crowds," said Lily. Harry considered this for a moment. The way she put it it sounded fine.

"I don't have any time, though," said Harry. Lily frowned.

"Well, I'm sure you can think of something. Maybe I'll ease up on the tutoring sessions," said Lily thoughtfully. Harry nodded. Lily sighed.

"Well, you should get back to your common room. You're not supposed to here!" said Lily, ushering him out of Maurader's Quarters. Harry left and went back to the common room to hopefully get some sleep.

* * *

A/N: Well, there's another chapter finished! Sorry for all the spelling and grammer mistakes, I was up late typing this. Please review! 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: As I'm running out of things to say in here, and I used a few of them twice, just look at the earlier chapters for the disclaimers.

A/N: Hello! Thank you for waiting so long for this chapter. I was at a cabin with no computer or phone for vacation. I was slighty upset last chapter because barely anyone reviewed. I was lost in writer's block for a while because of that. Anyways, enjoy the story.

**PLEASE READ THIS NOTE: **I just started a website where we can talk about my stories on. Go to my profile page to get to it. Just click on homepage. I tried to post the address up here, but it kept messing up.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 15****

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**

Harry sighed and felt like hitting his head against the book that he was currently reading. It was Saturday, and he was trying to do his homework, but kept getting distracted. First it was Ron, badgering him about quidditch, then it was Hermione who was badgering him about house elves, then it was Fred and George asking him about pranks, and a whole ton of other people kept coming up to him and asking questions or his opinion. Harry felt like he about to explode.

Hermione came up to him and sat down next to him. She grabbed some of his homework and began to read through it. She frowned as she found nothing wrong with it. This wasn't like Harry; he wasn't someone to be academic. Whenever she brought it up, though, he would just brush it off as spending too much time with his mother.

Hermione leaned forward, about to ask him about the defense club she wanted him to teach, then thought better of it. He looked to be in a bad mood and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to bring it up now. Hermione sighed and relaxed in her chair. It might take a while for him to get out of his bad mood,because once he goes into one he doesn't come out of it for a few hours. After a few hours of waiting for his temper to lessen, Hermione finally brought it up.

"I really don't know Hermione, I don't think that I can do it," answered Harry when asked about it.

"Please Harry? You know you're the best in our year, and I'm sure plenty of people would want to join it. Not many people like Umbridge," said Hermione.

"Most people think I'm delusional," snapped Harry.

"Well, a surprising amount of people were open to the idea," said Hermione.

"What do you mean? Did you already talk to people about it?" asked Harry. When Hermione nodded Harry closed his eyes and clenched his teeth so he wouldn't shout at her. "What would happen, Hermione, if I said no? What would you tell all those people?" asked Harry.

"Well, you won't say no, will you?" asked Hermione confidently.

"I will do it, but only because I want to and not because you went and put me into an awkward position!" snarled Harry. Hermione had the grace to look ashamed.

"Well, there really isn't anyone else to teach us, and you are really good Harry," said Hermione.

"Still, you practically forced me into this! Add this to my schedule now, and I'll be lucky if I can eat or sleep!" said Harry. Hermione looked stricken, as if she hadn't thought of that.

"But surely you can make time," said Hermione uneasily.

"Yeah, maybe every once in a while, but I can't teach this club often. And anyways, Umbridge won't be very happy if she finds out about this, right?" said Harry.

"I know, that's why we'll only tell people that don't like her. That way, word won't get back to her," said Hermione. Harry nodded.

"I guess we'll have to be careful about this," he said.

"Yeah. Anyways, I talked to a few people and we've all agreed that if I can get you to say yes to this, then we'll meet next Hogsmeade weekend to set up times and dates and stuff like that," said Hermione. Harry nodded in agreement.

* * *

James poked the thing on the plate suspiciously. Sirius had decided to try and cook, and what came out was a black blob that was supposed to be pancakes. Lily, as soon as she had seen hers, muttered about needing to catch up on grading papers, while Remus went on about getting a new magical creature. They had both left, leaving him to eat all of the stuff that Sirius cooked. 

"Well, aren't you going to eat it?" asked Sirius happily. James cautiously took a small bite, and promptly spit it back out again.

"Ew! Sirius, this tastes horrible!" said James. Sirius frowned.

"Well, we can't let all of this food go to waste, can we? So you have to eat it all," said Sirius evilly.

"What! Why can't you eat any of it?" snapped James.

"Because I value my life. See you later," said Sirius as he walked out of the portrait hole. James tried to follow him, but found himself stuck to his chair. It was then that James realized what Sirius had done. Sirius had done this for a prank and he wouldn't be able to move until he ate it all. Oh, Sirius was so going to pay for this.

* * *

Lily poked unhappily at another paper that she had to grade. She loved to teach, but there were some downsides to it, like grading a whole ton of papers that said the same thing every single time. Now she knew what the teachers felt like when students copied from each other. It was incredibly boring. At that moment, Harry walked into her office. Lily jumped up happily. 

"Harry! Would you like something to drink?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer, she began to make tea. Harry sat down and began to look through some of the papers on her desk. He snorted as he found quite a few things wrong with one of them in the first sentence.

"So Harry, what brings you here?" asked Lily as she set the tea down in front of them.

"I told Hermione that I would teach the club that she wanted me to teach. She already arranged a meeting at Hogsmeade for anyone who's interested," said Harry. Lily nodded.

"So, what are you planning on doing for it?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking that we would first start out with some basic spells. Maybe the disarming spell, then move onto tougher things when they get the hang of that one. I should probably teach them things like the stunning spell, and when they get really good maybe the patronus spell," said Harry. Lily stared at him for a moment.

"Harry, when did you say that you conjured a corporeal patronus again?" asked Lily.

"When I was thirteen, why?" asked Harry.

"Well, it's a really hard spell and some people can't even conjure mist when they're older," said Lily. "It's pretty amazing that you could do it when you were thirteen,"

"Really? I never thought of it that way," said Harry absently.

"Yeah. It would take a miracle for some of these kids to do it properly, even with you instructing them," said Lily. Harry shrugged.

"Oh well, I might as well teach them anyways," said Harry. "It might come in useful in the future,"

"Well, if you need any help doing this just ask me or James. Or Remus. Don't ask Sirius, he won't take this seriously," said Lily.

"Of course he will, he _is _Sirius," said Harry. Lily groaned at the overused pun. Lily glanced mournfully at the pile of essays she still had to grade.

"Do you want me to help you?" asked Harry.

"Yes please," said Lily thankfully.

* * *

James and Sirius walked into Lily's office to find her and Harry grading papers. James blinked, and then shook his head. 

"You guys really need to get out more," said Sirius.

"I don't have time. There are so many papers I need to grade," said Lily without glancing up. James and Sirius glanced at each other.

"How about this, Sirius and me will grade your papers and you two will relax," suggested James. Sirius glared at James for volunteering him.

"And have every Gryffindor get a good grade and all the Slytherins a bad one? Are you kidding?" asked Lily.

"Why, Miss Flower, you make horrible accusations. Why would you ever think that I would give a Slytherin a bad grade?" asked James innocently.

"Because I know you would," answered Lily. James scowled while Sirius and Harry laughed.

"She's got you there, Prongs," said Sirius. James hit Sirius on the head then turned back to Lily and Harry.

"You two need a break though," said James.

"We'll be fine," said Harry. "Don't worry about us. We can handle it,"

"Yeah. Now, if you're just here to bother us then I would suggest leaving," snapped Lily. James sighed and left the office with Sirius at his heels.

* * *

After Harry was done grading all the papers that Lily asked him to, he went back to the portrait hole. He climbed into the common room and looked around for Ron and Hermione. They weren't anywhere, but Ginny was sitting in the corner doing her homework. Harry made his way over to her. 

"Hi Ginny. Do you know where Ron and Hermione are?" asked Harry as he sat in the seat next to her.

"Yeah. I think a while ago Hermione dragged Ron off to go to the library," said Ginny.

"I should have known," muttered Harry. Harry sighed. He didn't want to go to the library. He had already been there today. "Do you mind if I sit here and work? I don't want to go to the library and there isn't anywhere else to sit," said Harry.

"Sit here all you want Harry," answered Ginny. She had barely even glanced up at him so far, only when he sat down. She looked like she was reading a charms book. Harry shrugged and got out his homework. After a few hours of doing his homework he began to wonder where Ron and Hermione could be. It was now past curfew and Hermione usually wouldn't want to be out this late. At that moment, the portrait hole swung open and Ron and Hermione came through. They made their way over to the table where Harry and Ginny were sitting and plopped down into the chairs across from them.

"Where have you guys been?" asked Harry.

"We've been with your parents," answered Hermione. "We wanted to know if there was some way we could become animagi. Why didn't you tell us that you're parents were helping you become one?" snapped Hermione. Harry froze. In all the secrets that he had been keeping, he forgot to tell Ron and Hermione about becoming an animagus.

"I forgot, I'm really sorry," said Harry.

"How could you forget something like this?" asked Ron incredulously.

"Well, there's been so much going on that I thought I had already told you," said Harry meekly.

"You thought you already told us? What in the world made you think that?" said Hermione. "You knew that we would want to become ones with you, so the lack of asking about it would make you aware that you hadn't told us!"

"Wait, you guys are going to become animagi? I want to be one too!" said Ginny.

"No, Ginny, you're too young. I don't want you doing anything dangerous," said Ron quickly.

"But it could end up saving my life! Anyways, you can't tell me what to do," snapped Ginny.

"You could get hurt!" said Ron.

"So could you, yet you're doing it!" shouted Ginny.

"But we have to remake the potion as they don't have any left, and what if something went wrong? There's no way that you're going to do this," said Ron.

"You can't tell me what to do and what not to do! If I want to do it, I'm going to do it!" snarled Ginny. Ron opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione quickly cut him off.

"Ron, if Ginny wants to do it then she should be able to do it. Anyways, she's right, it could end up saving her life," said Hermione soothingly. Ron scowled but didn't say anything more.

"Alright then, Ginny will learn with us. But this will take us a while to do. I'm barely anywhere with mine and I've been practicing since summer," said Harry.

"There's still the fact that you didn't tell us," said Hermione. Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry. It did completely slip my mind, and I thought I had already told you," said Harry apologetically.

"Well, I suppose as long as you help us then we'll be alright," said Hermione. They were both still scowling a little, though.

After a little while, Ron and Hermione went up to their dormitories to got some sleep. Ginny went a little after them. Harry stayed up for a little until the common room was deserted then grabbed his invisibility cloak out of his bag (he carried it everywhere with him now) and swung it over his shoulders.

He had finally finished all of the cleaning, except for the side tunnels and chambers, so he began to train. Ice made him work harder than he would normally, as he had spent a lot of time cleaning and not training. It was extremely hard to train with the Sword of Merlin with no one to practice on, but Harry tried. Ice had mostly criticism and insults, but there were a few rare times that he complimented him, or as close as a compliment that he could come.

Ice also began to drill him on animagi. Ice kept stressing how much he still needed to learn and how ignorant he was, but Harry soon began to get more things. He knew lots of spells and knew basic moves in swords. Harry knew other things that Ice insisted on teaching him that might be useful.

Harry sighed. It had been stressful to do all that Ice, Lily, and everyone else wanted him to do. Ice wanted him to train, Lily wanted him to do well in classes, Ron wanted him to do quidditch, Hermione wanted him to start a club, James and Sirius wanted him to help them play pranks, all of his teachers wanted him to do well on his O.W.L.s, and the problems just seemed to keep adding on. Harry could feel the pressure and lack of sleep pressing down upon him, but tried to ignore it. He could do this, even if it meant collapsing when he finished.

Harry had made some progress on his animagi forms. It had been going so much better in the summer when he thought that he had endless amounts of time. Now that he didn't have endless amounts of time, he was being stretched thin. There always seemed to be another thing that he needed to get done.

After Harry and Ice were done in the Chamber, they both went upstairs and into bed. Harry fell asleep almost instantly. Harry couldn't wait for the next day, because he had finished all of his homework today and he could just relax with his friends.

* * *

Lily woke up the next morning and glanced at her sleeping husband. He showed no signs of waking, so she just got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for today. She wanted to do things today, mainly plan lessons, but she wanted to talk to Harry about when they would tell anyone else what he was doing. She had begun to see some changes in him, now he seemed to be much smarter and actually did well in classes. He looked fit, too. He now moved with an almost cat-like grace that she couldn't help but feel a little envious of. She could tell that other girls had been noticing the changes too, and everyone thought that they were for the better. Lily knew that before long people were going to begin to wonder where he was learning this stuff, and James and Sirius might actually realize that Harry was different from when he was in the summer. 

Lily walked out of the bathroom and found that James still hadn't woken up. Lily scowled. Lily went over to him and shook him. It didn't even get a response. Lily pushed him off the bed then walked away while James shot up from the position he was in, rubbing his head. She could feel James glaring at her back, but completely ignored him. She had things that she needed to do today, and helping James out with the bump on his head wasn't one of them.

* * *

Harry slept in late, very late. It was around noon when he got up, and he enjoyed getting up this late, even though Ice hissed at him, calling him a lazy child who couldn't go a few hours without sleeping. Of course, Harry had gone more than a few hours without sleep, but that wasn't the point. Ice had decided that they should do endurance training, as Harry was obviously lacking in it from the way he was acting. It was times like these when Harry really wished that he could just throw Ice out of the window and be done with it. 

_/Let's go, you lazy child, I'm hungry/ _complained Ice. It seemed that Ice was calling him lazy child now more than ever. From the looks of it, it was his nickname.

_/We're going/ _snapped Harry back. Harry walked down to lunch with Ice around his shoulders, not that anyone noticed a lump around his shoulders. Harry had a feeling that Ice had done something that made them not realize that the rather large lump wasn't there, but Harry couldn't prove anything.

Harry sat down at the table, and no one commented on the fact that he had taken a while to get up. They seemed to accept the fact that he was going to get up late on weekends. Or that might be Ice's doing also. Harry wasn't sure what was Ice's doing and what was natural. Harry sighed. He supposed it was natural now. Next weekend was Hogsmeade weekend and Harry had the meeting with all of the people who wanted him to teach them defense.

Harry felt nervous about teaching them. He knew that he had to do a good job because one day they might need the training. He felt a lot of pressure about this. Harry also didn't know when he would have time to teach them. He supposed that there would be a few times that he could teach them during the week, but it was going to be tough trying to find time to help them. Harry knew that his teaching them would also reflect on his leadership skills. He knew that this would help him a little as well as others.

Harry checked his watch, and decided that he would help Ron with his homework. After all, he had today completely free. Harry glanced up at the staff table, and saw Lily coming towards him.

"Harry, I want to talk to you. Can you came with me please?" asked Lily. Harry nodded. Neither of them saw Ginny glance up curiously, and follow them.

* * *

Lily walked into her office with Harry trailing behind her. She didn't even bother to close her door, figuring that no one would be out there now. She turned to Harry. "Lately I've been wondering when you're going to tell everyone about the Chamber of Secrets," said Lily. "I mean, you have to tell them sometime that you're going down there to train every night," 

"I don't know," said Harry unhappily. "Dad would kill me if he found out that I stole the Sword of Merlin out of our vault. Though that wasn't really my fault, Ice made me do it,"

"The longer you wait to tell them what you've been doing the more that they're going to hate you for it when they find out," said Lily. "Where is Ice, by the way?" she asked, looking around for the snake. Harry hissed at his shoulders, then got a very angered look about him.

"I don't believe him! He sits around all day telling me about how lazy I am, and yet right now he's asleep!" Harry said angrily. "You'd think that he would follow his own advice and sleep during the night and not the day!" Lily stifled a laugh. Harry and his snake could be so funny sometimes.

Harry turned his head sharply to the door. Lily looked at him curiously, wondering why he did that. Harry, seeing her quizzical look answered her unspoken question. "I thought I saw movement outside the door, but I must have been imagining it," he said.

"Anyways, Harry, you have to tell them soon what you've been doing. It'll hurt them so much if they find out afterwards that you spent a whole ton of time in the Chamber of Secrets training with you snake. What is he training you in again?" asked Lily.

"Well, wandless and wordless magic, a little of swords and other weapons. He's making me go through endurance training too," said Harry. Lily made a sympathetic noise.

"I don't know how you find the time, with quidditch practice, training with Ice, classes, homework, Hermione wanting you to start a club, and all the other stuff that people have been making you do," she said. Then she blinked, because she just realized that she had been piling more stuff onto him with the tutoring lessons for classes. She flushed a little when she realized how much she must have been pressuring him. Harry didn't seem to notice her discomfort, though.

"I should get going. I actually have today free," said Harry. Lily walked to the door and stepped out into the hall with Harry. She was just about to say something, when she saw a flash of movement at the end of the corridor, almost like someone was running away. It seemed that Harry had seen it too. He squinted suspiciously at the end of the corridor, and then shrugged when he found nothing suspicious there.

"Well, see you later," said Lily, and gave Harry a kiss on the top of his head. Harry scowled at her, looking around to make sure no one saw his mother doing that to him. Lily laughed, and pushed him along the corroder. Harry scowled again at being shepherded along like a kid, so he took a few long strides that put him ahead of Lily and out of her arm reach. Lily laughed again, and walked back to her office. She still had lessons to plan.

* * *

Ginny ran along the corridor and back to the common room. She burst through the common room and ran up to her dormitory, where she flopped down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what she had heard. She had just been curious as to why Lily would want to see Harry in private, so she had followed them. She hadn't expected to hear what she did. 

So he had been training in the Chamber of Secrets with his snake. She frowned, having missed a little of the conversation. She had heard the part about hurting them if he didn't tell them soon. That was when she came in, listening to the rest of the conversation. She had heard about what he was getting training on, and what people were piling on him. When she heard them start to move to the door, she had bolted down the corridor and was out of sight before they could see her.

She shifted uneasily on her bed. How did Harry get so good at hiding things from them that they didn't even notice this? It had seemed like only her and Lily had noticed how tired Harry was lately, and now it all made sense. He had seemed a little stressed out the last time she saw him.

And then there were the nightmares. She knew that Harry was having them, and it was interfering with his sleep horribly. Or what little sleep that he did get. That made him more tired and more stressed then he needed to be. Ginny suddenly felt helpless, realizing that there wasn't anything that she could really do to help him. And after the Chamber of Secrets incident in her first year, she hated feeling helpless.

At that moment her resolve to help him strengthen and at first she wondered what she could do, so she decided to help him the only way she could. That would be to support him. And maybe she would study a lot more. Yes, she would definitely study more. You never know when something could come in useful in a battle.

* * *

A/N: Well, how was it? Please review! And please at least take a look at my website! 


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.

A/N: Hello! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and looked at my website! But for my website to work, people have to go on it and ask questions. No one asked questions in all of the reviews either. Please go and try it!

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**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 16

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**

Sheknew she was taking a risk, but she felt that she had to do it. She knew that no one had thought to ask him if he had any, and there wasn't any guarantee that he did have any, but she was going to try and find some anyways.

She slipped inside the door and looked around. She spotted the cabinet in the corner and quickly walked to it. She pulled on the handle, and wasn't surprised when it didn't open.

"_Alohamora,_" she whispered. The lock clicked and the door swung open. She smiled triumphantly. "_Lumos,_" she whispered, and the tip of her wand lit up. She looked around the cabinet for the potion. She spotted it, and felt glad that he had some on stock. She pulled the vial that had white and black liquid swirling around in it out of the cabinet.

* * *

Harry slid down into the tunnel to the Chamber the Secrets that night. When he got out of the pipe, he turned and began to slowly climb back up it so he could clean it. He had forgotten to clean the pipe before, so he was doing it now. Before long, he had it entirely cleaned. If he had stayed up there any longer, he might have realized that someone slid down the tunnel after he was done cleaning it.

Harry went back to the main chamber. He looked at Ice expectantly to see what he wanted to do. He tongue shot out of his mouth for a moment, as though seeing if anyone else was around.

_/Today we'll be concentrating solely on animagus transformations/ _he hissed. His tone of voice sounded amused. Harry wondered why, but shrugged it off and began to practice. He first tried his hawk form, and after getting a few patches of feathers, he stopped. He then started to try his lion form, and got his hair to turn yellow and look even wilder than it was before. He began to practice his ferret form, and got some of its coat and his ears shrank and became ferret's ears. He knew it probably would look really weird for a human to have very small ferret ears. He did his phoenix form next. He had improved on that one, this time he got five feathers. Then he did his dragon form, and got a few patches of scales on himself. He smiled triumphantly.

He thought he heard a noise behind him and spun around, but no one was there. He glanced around suspiciously before turning to Ice. _/Was anyone there/ _he asked.

_/There might have been/ _said Ice vaguely. Harry blinked before this statement really set in.

_/What do you mean, 'there might have been?' Was there anyone there? And if there was why didn't you tell me/ _demanded Harry. Ice slowly slithered away, ignoring Harry's questions. _/What are you doing? Come back here/ _Harry hissed, and began to chase after his snake, which was now slithering faster away from him. Ice made a sound that could be described as a laugh in parseltongue, and slithered away faster. Harry gave a growl, and ran faster.

After a very wild chase that went around many of the side tunnels, he and Ice went back to the main chamber. Harry was out of breath, but Ice looked like it had cost him no effort at all, a fact that Harry was glaring at him for. Harry glanced at his watch and his eyes widened when he realized that it was midnight already. Harry went back up the pipe leading to the bathroom despite Ice's protests that they didn't get much done, and went back to the common room to get some homework done and maybe some sleep. He didn't have his invisibility cloak with him, but he wasn't bothered because Lily said that she would guard the cameras tonight.

When he left the bathroom, he didn't see that Ginny exited the pipe too, pulling off his invisibility cloak and frowning at him, but Ice saw her, and he gave what could be called a smirk, and Lily jumped up when she saw her on the cameras.

* * *

Lily jumped up in alarm when she saw Ginny come out of the pipe with Harry's cloak on, only realizing that she was there when she pulled off the cloak. Lily's eyes widened, and she glanced at Harry, but he didn't realize that she was there. She wondered how she knew that Harry was doing this, but there were many ways that she could have found out. Harry could have accidentally mentioned something, or Ginny could have seen him leave for the Chamber, or she could have heard Harry and Lily talking about it. Lily winced when she realized how careless they had been the last time they had a talk, they hadn't even shut the door!

Lily glanced at Harry again, and suddenly saw Ice's head peeking out from his bag. Ice knew about Ginny, and he wasn't saying anything. "Bloody snake," murmured Lily. "Oh, I really hope that Harry kills him when he realizes that he didn't tell him about Ginny,"

Lily stared at Ice a littler more. He looked amused, or as amused as a snake could be, that Ginny was following them. Lily wondered why Ginny didn't put the cloak back on, but this thought quickly vanished when she approached Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. The effect was instantaneous; Harry spun around and whipped out his wand. So he was getting better with reflexes and other stuff, Lily mused. She turned the volume up on the camera in that corridor so she could hear what was being said.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Harry as he lowered his wand. Ginny put her hands on hr hips and gave Harry a murderous glare.

"I could ask you the same question," she snarled.

"Erm… I went to the kitchens to get a snack. I'm sure Dobby will tell you that I was there," said Harry confidently. Lily winced, realizing that Ginny knew that Harry was lying to her.

"Why are you so alert then? You usually don't draw your wand on people who tap you on the shoulder," said Ginny, still giving Harry a venomous glare.

"Well, you never know when a Slytherin could be waiting to attack you," said Harry. That just increased Ginny's glare even more.

"Oh yeah, they're going to go up to you and tap you on the shoulder, then wait until you're turned around and have your wand out to attack you," said Ginny sarcastically. Harry fidgeted nervously. Lily wondered if she should go to save them, but decided to wait to see how this would play out. Anyways, if Harry asked her tomorrow why she didn't come then, she could just say that she fell asleep and didn't notice.

"Well, one gets jumpy when you're in a dark corridor where people could be lurking in the shadows, just waiting to attack you," said Harry. "What are you doing up anyways?"

"Oh no, don't try to change the subject," said Ginny. Harry sighed.

"Ginny, listen, I was-,"

"I don't want excuses!" snapped Ginny. Harry gave a small glare. Ginny returned it in full force, giving him a major death glare that not even Harry could defeat. Harry quickly averted his eyes from her burning gaze and looked down the corridor.

"I went to the kitchens for a late night snack," repeated Harry.

"No you didn't," said Ginny calmly. "We can keep this up all night until you tell me the truth if you want,"

"What do you mean? Did you follow me?" asked Harry suspiciously. Ginny shifted a little.

"And if I did?" challenged Ginny.

"Ginny! What did you see?"

"A lot of stuff that you seem to not want me or anyone other than your mother to know," said Ginny. Harry paled.

"Let me guess, you heard us talking the other day," said Harry. Ginny smiled grimly and gave a nod. Harry went calmly over to the wall, and began to hit his head against the stone. Ginny gave a surprised yelp and quickly went forward to stop him from hurting himself.

"You know, you kind of seem like Dobby when you do that, and it's annoying," said Ginny. Harry ignored her and kept hitting his head repeatedly on the wall. Ice hissed something, and Harry jerked around and began to hiss very fast at Ice, looking very mad at him.

"What are you saying to him?" asked Ginny curiously.

"Ice says that he knew you were there all along, but didn't want to say anything because he wanted to see how you would take it and how I would react. I swear that I will kill him," said Harry, glaring at the white snake. Ginny gave a small smile, but it vanished quickly.

"Okay, tell me what you were doing down in the Chamber," demanded Ginny. Harry shifted nervously before launching into a brief summary of what he had been doing, and promised her more in better detail when they weren't in so much danger of being overheard. Ginny seemed to accept the story pretty well, except for one part.

"Hold on, what were you doing when I first came down?" she asked. Harry shifted nervously again and glanced around, and in the direction of the camera.

"I'll tell you later," said Harry again and they both quickly walked off to the common room with Harry looking around to see if anyone had heard them or not. Lily sighed and leaned back in her chair. So, one more person knew about what Harry had been doing. She supposed that everyone would find out eventually. She wondered who would realize it next, and she smiled. She knew that it would be either Hermione or Remus who found out next. Then it would most likely be… well, she really didn't know who it would be after that. James and Sirius would be too dense, Ron can't see anything in front of his face except for quidditch, and most other people didn't know Harry well enough to get into his affairs very far.

Lily got up and began to make her way to her and James's bedrooms, wondering all the while who would find out next. When she got inside her room, she took one look at the slumbering James and decided that maybe she should wake up Remus instead of James to continue on with the guard duty.

* * *

Harry sighed with relief when he knew that they were away from the cameras. Out of respect for privacy, they hadn't put up any in the dormitories. So, he and Ginny sat on his bed with his hangings shut and a silencing charm around them so no one else would be able to hear.

Harry surveyed Ginny, wondering how much he should tell her. He had told his mum almost everything except for the animagus part. He wondered if he should tell Ginny everything or almost nothing. Unfortunately, Ginny decided for him.

"Tell me what's happening or else I'll ask your mother," she snapped. "I know that she knows, and she can fill me in on any details," she added. Harry sighed and decided to tell her the whole story, including the animagus part. So he described his summer, and the school year so far. By the end of it, Ginny looked shocked.

"How are you still conscious?" she exclaimed. "I doubt that anyone could ever go that long without that much sleep!"

"I've been doing it for months now," Harry pointed out.

"I swear Harry, you not getting enough sleep is going to come back and kick you right in the a-,"

"That doesn't matter," Harry said, cutting her off swiftly before her language could get fouler. "What matters is that I get enough training. Oh yeah, and I've told my mum about everything except for the animagus part, so if you could keep that quiet, it would be greatly appreciated," said Harry.

"Why haven't you told her about it?" she asked curiously.

"I really don't know. I thought that if anything, I could keep that quiet. I almost wanted it to be a secret weapon," answered Harry truthfully. Ginny nodded.

"I'm staying here with you tonight," she declared and lay down next to him on the bed. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Ginny, you can't stay here. For one, Ron would freak out. For two, you would need to get back to your own dormitory in the morning before anyone wakes up, and I don't want to wake you," Harry said. Ginny glared at him.

"Why don't you just wake up before everyone and then go to an early breakfast?" asked Ginny. It was Harry's turn to glare at her.

"No," he said firmly. Ginny crossed her arms and glared at him. Harry glared right back. They had a staring contest until Harry backed down.

"Fine then, but we have to get up early," said Harry. He put out the light of his wand, which they had been using to see each other by, and lay down next to Ginny. He sighed a little. He doubted he would get any sleep tonight, with Ginny sleeping right next to him, but he fell asleep almost right away.

The next morning Harry was the first one up in his dormitory and was dragging Ginny by the arm down to the common room. It had taken him a while to get her to get up and not fall back to sleep. It was Monday and next weekend was when Harry and the others went to Hogsmeade to discuss the new defense group that they were going to start. Harry gave an irritated sigh and pushed Ginny towards the stairs to her dormitory.

"You have to go get changed and stuff," he said. "_Then _we can go down to breakfast,"

Ginny gave an angry huff and went up to her dormitory. Harry waited fifteen minutes before she came back down, looking much more composed than before. They walked down to breakfast together. When they got there, they were surprised to see that there were only a few students who were up before them.

After a very long breakfast, in which they mostly sat and talked instead of ate and waited for Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny went their separate ways.

When the boring history of magic class was through, Harry went to potions. There, something very odd happened.

Harry entered the potions classroom and went to their usual table. Ron and Hermione positioned themselves on either side of him, not talking because of one of their arguments. Snape began to lecture them, and then began to ask questions. Or more, asked the Gryffindors questions and took points off either because they were wrong or they cheated, even if they hadn't cheated. Snape soon came to him.

"Potter! What do you get when you add flobberworm mucus and lacewings?"

"A very large explosion," answered Harry. He knew this because he and Sirius had been experimenting in the potions lab at Potter Manor in the summer, and put in those two ingredients. There were things that could stabilize them both so they wouldn't cause an explosion, but unfortunately, he and Sirius really had no clue whatsoever of what they were doing.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter!" Snape snarled. Harry looked into his eyes for a moment and felt a strange, probing sensation. It was very subtle, and wouldn't have noticed it at all if he hadn't been thinking hard at that moment. Suddenly Ice hissed from around his shoulders, _/What is he doing in your head? I don't want him here. Get out/ _With that, the probing sensation vanished completely. Snape's eyes widened for a moment, and that was all Harry needed to tell him it was Snape that was the probing sensation. When he got outside the classroom, he asked Ice about it.

_/He was using legilemency in you. It's where he can go and basically read your mind, but it's much, much, **much **more complex than that. I only used that description because it seemed that you would know what it would mean/ _said Ice.

_/You mean he's been reading my thoughts! Is there anyway to stop him/ _Harry asked urgently.

_/Of course there is! Why wouldn't there be? You can use occulmency, which protects your mind. I really don't see why you should bother to learn it, as I can keep people out of your mind. Now, can we go get something to eat? I'm hungry/ _said Ice. Harry ignored the last part of Ice's speech and began to think about occulmency. It would be useful to learn. He would go to the library and see if there was anything on it. At that point, Ice gave an irritable hiss from his bag and Harry decided that he would go after lunch and his lessons.

* * *

Lily sat in her seat. She couldn't help but smirk every once in a while. No one would suspect that it was her who did it. They would all point their fingers at James and Sirius. No one suspects the quiet and smart people.

* * *

After lunch Harry had divination. It was hot in the tower, and they were glad when the bell rang. They went down to defense against the dark arts and slid into their seats while waiting for class to begin. When the bell rang, signaling the start of classes, Umbridge swept into the room.

"Hello class," she said.

"Hello Professor Umbridge," the class replied. She opened her mouth to speak again.

And all that came out was a very loud ribbet.

The class stared in shock. Umbridge herself looked perplexed. She opened her mouth to speak again.

"_RIBBET_," came out of her mouth again. She waved her wand at the board, but all that came out was a whole ton of ribbets spelled all over the board. She gave her foot a stomp. They spent the whole class trying to read her mimed movements, and it wasn't hard but they made sure that no one got it right.

That night at dinner Harry and the others sat down and began to tell everyone what had happened. Umbridge was sitting at the head table fuming. Apparently, none of the teachers could get it off, and Dumbledore 'supposedly' could not read what she was miming.

The tables were completely cleared too. Not one little bit of food was on them. People were wondering what was happening, when the food suddenly appeared. No one spoke for a moment.

And then people started laughing.

There were frogs' legs for dinner. Every plate was covered with them. There was nothing else to be served and people quickly made the connection. Umbridge stood up and began to ribbet very loudly, which made people laugh even more. Umbridge stormed out of the hall.

"Who did this?" cried some of the people who supported the ministry. Harry leaned back in his chair and his eyes immediately went to Sirius and his dad. But they were looking just as confused as everyone else was. If it really were them then they would try to get some of the credit.

Harry glanced at his mother, and then did a double take. She was smirking, but trying to hide it. Harry couldn't help a smile spreading across his face. It looks like his father and Sirius weren't the only ones who prank people.

After dinner Harry hurried to catch up to his mother. She was halfway to Marauder's Quarters with Sirius, Remus, and James by the time he caught them.

"Hey mum," Harry greeted.

"Hello," she said pleasantly.

"Nice prank you pulled," said Harry, smirking. James, Sirius, and Remus all turned sharply to face Lily.

"You mean you did that!" asked James.

"I never said I didn't," answered Lily. She had resumed walking, as they had stopped when Harry caught up. James, Sirius, and Remus gaped after her for a few moments before they ran to catch up with her. Harry was laughing at them, finding it hilarious that they didn't think that she pulled it.

Harry sat down in the common room that night to get some homework done. He was planning on going to the library after curfew so no one knew what he was looking for. Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of him, and Ginny wandered over after a few minutes.

"So, Harry, are you going to stay with your parents this summer?" asked Ginny randomly. Harry looked up from the essay he was writing to answer her.

"Yeah, I can't stay with the Dursleys and it's the safest place for me," said Harry.

"What do you mean you can't stay with the Dursleys?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Well, I can, but I don't want to. You see, after they spent some time in Potter Manor doing some work, they were relocated to a safe house somewhere in America. I'm not really sure where, and I have no need to find out," replied Harry, but Hermione had stopped listening. She was glaring to where Fred and George were.

Ever since the beginning of the year, Fred and George had been testing out products of their new shop out on students, but stopped doing it in the common room when Hermione confronted them about it and threatened to tell their mother. They had Skiving Snackboxes and other interesting things. Right now Fred and George were showing off a Skiving Snackbox that they had just perfected, and Hermione was already standing up to stop them. Ron watched Hermione as she stalked over to where they were, and then turned to Harry.

"It was worse this summer," muttered Ron. "Fred and George can apparate, and their pranks on people increased. I still wonder how they were able to pull so many pranks on me without me noticing sometime, even with the apparating" said Ron. Harry shifted a little in his seat, remembering bribing Fred and George not to prank him by giving them the invisibility cloak for them to use every once in a while.

At that moment, Hermione came back to their table, absolutely fuming. "I can't believe them! They've stopped responding to my threats about telling Mrs. Weasley, and they just laugh at me! I'm going to go to the owlery. This has to stop. Can I borrow Hedwig, Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded and Hermione left again.

"At least they're better than Percy," aid Ron, spitting out Percy's name like it was something disgusting. Percy had sided with the ministry on the matter of Voldemort, and had even gone so far as to write a letter to Ron telling him that he should keep away from Harry. His whole family was mad at him, and so were the Potters.

Before long, Ron and Hermione (when she came back) went off to bed. Harry slipped up to his dormitory and grabbed the invisibility cloak, then went back down to the common room. As he was walking out of the portrait hole, he found Ginny waiting for him outside. Even though she couldn't see him, she saw the portrait hole open of it's own accord, and said cheerfully, "Let's go,"

"What?" asked a very confused Harry.

"We're going down there together, and there isn't a thing you can do to stop me," said Ginny. Harry suddenly realized that it was his father watching the cameras tonight, and hoped he hadn't seen her yet. He pulled Ginny under the cloak and glared at her more properly.

"Ginny! You can't come down with me! And keep your voice down," whispered Harry, but Ginny wasn't listening. She was already walking, and was forcing Harry to walk with her.

They soon got to the Chamber, and a very sulky Harry, who had lost the one-sided argument, opened the tunnel. They both slide down into the pipe together, and Harry was suddenly very aware of the fact that their bodies were pressed close together. It made Harry's stomach do a weird flip-flop, and when they got out he was feeling awkward.

"Harry, I was wondering," started Ginny, in a sweet voice, "if you could help me with the animagus transformation?"

"What? I thought that the potion wasn't ready," said Harry, frowning.

"It isn't. I might have gotten some from Professor Snape without him knowing…" trailed off Ginny.

"You mean you stole some from Snape's private stores?" asked Harry incredulously. Ginny gave him a wide small.

"I just took some without him knowing. I wouldn't call it stealing," said Ginny. Harry stared at her for a few moments, then shrugged.

"If you went through all that trouble, then I suppose I should help you," he answered. Ginny squealed happily and hugged him. Harry suddenly found himself very grateful that he had agreed.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's chapter 16! Please review and check out my website! 


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother to put these in anymore. If you want to see disclaimers, look at the earlier chapters.

A/N: Hello! I won't be putting much in these anymore, more just little bits of information. I would like to thank makotochi for being the first one to sign up on my website. I would also like to remind everyone that I do have a website set up for people to ask questions and comment on my stories.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 17

* * *

**

Harry watched as Ginny took the animagus potion. He shrugged, and decided to practice his while he was waiting. He was nervous having her take it right now, because she could end up being in that trance for a few days, and that would raise some awkward questions on where she was.

He decided to practice just his hawk form tonight. He tried, and as usual, he was able to form a few patches of feathers. He glanced at Ginny every once in a while, and before he knew it he was sitting down next to her and just staring at her. He had never really looked at her very hard before. He began to study her, and slowly the hours went by.

Suddenly her eyes popped open and she jumped up. Harry scrambled up after her. "What was your form?" he asked her.

"I'm… not really sure," said Ginny. Harry frowned.

"What do you mean? I've heard of people not having forms, but they usually only stay in the trance for a couple of minutes, then they come out of it with no animal form," said Harry.

"Well, there was an animal form, but yet there was another," said Ginny. Harry's heart sped up at this.

"You mean that you have multiple forms too?" he asked. Ginny shook her head.

"No, that isn't what happened. I saw one form, and then another, but something in me told me that I wouldn't be able to access that one, and to just try the first one. The… whatever it was told me that I didn't have enough power to access the second one, but just seeing the second one meant that I was really powerful. What did that mean? And what was telling me this?" wondered Ginny.

"Well, I suppose that it was your subconscious telling you all of that. For the second form… I really don't know. I'll have to ask dad, without telling him of course," said Harry. "But anyways, what was your form?"

"Well, after a few moments an animal came to me. It was beautiful!" said Ginny dreamily. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, that really told me your form," he said sarcastically. Ginny threw a glare at him and he tossed back an innocent gaze that got a smile out of her.

"It was a horse!" she said. "It was really beautiful! It had a red mane and coat, and it was really graceful! The second form, the one I can't do, is a cheetah!" she said happily. Harry smiled at her.

"Shall we practice?" he asked.

"Yeah. How long was I out?"

"About four hours," said Harry nonchalantly.

"Four hours!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Yep. It's three in the morning right now,"

"Then we should go back to our dormitories and get some sleep," said Ginny. "I'm going, and you are too, whether you want to or not," With that, she grabbed his hand and began to pull him towards the entrance of the Chamber, all the while muttering about workaholic people who don't know when to quit and get some sleep. Harry found himself smiling at her antics and letting himself be dragged along.

The next day was Tuesday, and Harry had double charms first thing in the morning. Lily was teaching it, but right now they were practicing spells and the room was noisy. Harry, Ron and Hermione were a conversation in the back of the room. At first, Ron and Hermione were arguing about homework. Before long, the topic had taken a surprising twist and they were now talking about more serious matters.

"So, how do you think that the Sorting Hat knew what was going on?" asked Ron.

"We've been over this," said Hermione exasperatedly. "The Sorting Hat is in Dumbledore's office all year round. Of course it knows what's going on!"

"But how it work a warning into the song this year? It's supposed to talk about the houses, not warning us about Voldemort!"

This year, the Sorting Hat had a new song like every year. This year though, it had sung not only about some normal things, but also sung a warning about how every needed to unite the houses and everyone needs to work together to defeat Voldemort. It hadn't said it in those exact words, but it was basically telling them that. They had discussed this topic a lot, and Ron still couldn't seem to grasp the meaning.

"Ron, the Sorting Hat can sing about whatever it wants. I asked Nearly Headless Nick, and he said that in the first war the Hat sung warning like this all the time!" said Hermione.

"Well, I really don't blame it," said Harry. He remembered one time when he went to Grimauld Place with Sirius to visit his friends over the summer. There had been a boggart in the desk of the drawing room, and he had walked in on Mrs. Weasley dealing with it. Her boggart was of her family dieing, and Harry seemed to be included in her family. It was disturbing to see your own dead body on the floor.

"See! Harry agrees with me!" said Hermione. Harry thought back to his statement, and while it really wasn't an agreement, it could be taken as one. Ron shot Harry a hurt look and Harry rolled his eyes at him. This just made Ron give him an even more hurt look, in which Hermione laughed at because it looked so pathetically stupid, which made Ron glare, which got him in a bad mood.

Before long, it was lunchtime. Fred and George wandered over to them and they soon began to discuss the grading. Hermione had insisted on doing this for a while, until it was thoroughly ingrained in their minds.

"The top grade you can get is an 'O', for outstanding," started Fred. "Then it's and 'E' for exceeds expectations, then its 'A' for acceptable. That's the last pass grade. 'P' is next, which is poor, then 'D', which is dreadful. Those are both fail grades,"

"Don't forget 'T'," said George.

"What does that stand for?" asked Hermione.

"Troll," said George. The people at the table laughed. Hermione nodded, obviously satisfied. Harry finished eating, then swung his bag over his shoulder and started to head for his next lesson.

* * *

Lily scanned the newspaper anxiously, hoping there wasn't any bad news in it. There never was, but you can never be sure. There was one article in there on an Order member who had been caught on guard duty. He had a sentence of six months in azkaban, and Lily and James immediately went to the headmaster for answers. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to have any, or wouldn't give them to them.

Lily knew that Harry knew about the arrest. She had seen him reading about it, and saw him glance up at the head table at Dumbledore. Dumbledore had been avoiding Harry's eyes though, and Harry failed to catch them again. She could tell that it was frustrating Harry to no end, but he wouldn't admit it.

Harry was getting better at controlling his emotions. She supposed it was from being around Ice all the time. Speaking of Ice, she glanced at Harry, who was walking out of the hall. She knew Ice was around his shoulders. Her eyes narrowed and she began to wonder why Ice was around Harry's shoulders all the time and not out in the open. Most likely Harry wanted Ice as a secret weapon and didn't want to scare the students either.

Lily glanced at the headmaster. She had a sneaking suspicion that Harry had never told the other teachers about Ice, which was why he always hid him from view. Not because he wanted him as a secret weapon or he didn't want to scare students, only because his friends and family only knew about Ice.

Lily slid out from her chair and began to walk to her office. She had papers that needed to be graded, and she didn't want to put them off for later.

* * *

Harry walked to Marauder's Quarters that night, intent on asking James and Sirius about having two forms, but only being able to use one. As he slipped into Marauder's Quarters, he was met with the sight of Sirius throwing curses at James. Harry dodged a yellow beam of light and went over to Lily and Remus, who were both hiding behind an upturned couch.

"What's going on?" Harry asked them as he crouched down next to him.

"Oh, apparently James went and turned everything Sirius owned green and silver. Of course, Sirius can't figure out how to undo it, so the only other solution is to hex James," said Lily matter of factly. Harry nodded in acceptance. This sort of thing happened all the time. In fact, they were so used to it by now that they didn't even bother to watch them. Harry talking to Lily while Remus sat and read a book.

When Sirius was finally done trying to curse James, they began to put the room back together because it was a mess from all of the spells hitting various items. Lily as glaring Sirius the entire time for making a mess, and every once in a while alternating her glare to James for provoking Sirius. When they were finally done, they sat down on the couches and began to chat, all except for Sirius, who was sulking in the corner for having his stuff all Slytherin colors.

"So, dad," said Harry casually. "I was wondering, is it possible for you to have two forms in animagus transformations?"

"Yep. There hasn't been a person with multiple animagus forms in quite a while, though," answered James. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I've just been wondering about it since I've been getting pretty far in my hawk form. Is it possible for you to have two forms, but not be able to access one?"

"Yeah. I actually would have two forms if I had a little more power. You see, what happens is that you're really powerful to even see what your next form might be, but you're not quite powerful enough to access it. I've heard of people seeing three forms and not being able to access two of them. If I remember correctly, Dumbledore saw four forms but was only able to access one, which means that he's really powerful.

"Most of the Potters saw two forms but was only able to access one. I saw two forms also, hence the reason that I was out for so long. Not only did I see a stag, but I also saw an eagle," answered James. "I've been wondering for a while now, you were out for five hours. Did you see two forms too and didn't tell us?" asked James. Harry considered this for a moment. This was a chance to come clean, to tell them what he had been doing, to tell them that he had five forms…

"Um, yes," said Harry. James smiled.

"Really? What was it?" he asked. Harry quickly decided on one.

"A lion," he answered.

"A lion? That's awesome! Too bad you can't do it!" shouted Sirius excitedly. Harry gave a nervous smile.

"Yeah," he said. "I… didn't tell you cause I wasn't sure why I saw it," he said quickly. James gave a happy smile. Remus frowned quietly and sniffed the air a little, but no one saw him.

* * *

After Harry left, Remus went back into his room to figure out why Harry had acted like that. Remus, if he tried hard enough, could smell emotions when they were strong, because of him being a werewolf. For example, if someone was very stressed out, Remus could tell that they were from how they smelled. And when Harry had said that he saw a lion as a form he couldn't access, he had smelled Harry being nervous.

Remus didn't usually try to tell what people's emotions were, because he thought that it was an invasion of privacy. So this was one of the first times that he had ever really tried to smell what Harry's emotions were. What he had gotten from one sniff wasn't very good.

He could tell right away that Harry was exhausted. Not only that, but he seemed really stressed. When he was telling them about having a lion form, he was nervous and unsure. Remus could tell that he was hiding something, and he was determined to find out what.

* * *

James hummed happily after Harry had left. He had been unsure if Harry had seen another form or not. Almost everyone in the Potter line had seen two forms. He had also seen an eagle, but hadn't told anyone at the time, being unsure as to what it was. He was ecstatic when he found out that it was a good thing, and he accepted Harry's excuse with grace, knowing that it had also happened to him.

When he had first seen the eagle, he had not known what to do. Both Sirius and Peter went on and on about their forms, though Peter was a little downcast at the fact that his was a rat, and James went on about his stag. He hadn't known what the eagle meant, as none of the books they read mentioned anything about multiple animagus. It wasn't until a year later that he was looking through a book that it mentioned multiple animagi.

After that, James went through more books about multiple animagi, and found out why he had seen an eagle. He was very pleased when he found out that that meant that he was more powerful then other people. He was even more pleased when he found out that most of the Potters had a form that could access and a form that couldn't access.

So he accepted Harry's excuse, not realizing that Harry had been nervous when he had said it, and not knowing that Harry shifted in his seat a little, which was a sign that he was lying.

* * *

Severus Snape was checking his supply of potions for a headache cure. He had tried to enter Harry Potter's mind again today with legilimency and was forced out almost immediately. It was unnatural for someone to have almost no occulmency barriers one year and the next year have advanced ones that kept even the best legilimens out. Potter was using something to protect his mind, and he was determined to find out what it was.

Severus grumbled to himself as he realized that he didn't have any more headache cures right now. He double checked all of the shelves to make sure he hadn't missed any, and did a double take at one specific shelf.

The animagus potion was gone. Severus could feel his temper slowly increase. Who could have done this? How could they have broken into his private stores? Severus suddenly remembered that one night he had forgotten to put up the charms and hexes he usually put on the cabinet one night and only locked it.

Severus spun around and headed for the door. He needed to tell the headmaster about this, and then go to Pomfrey for the headache cure.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by quickly for Harry, and before he knew it, it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked up the road to the village. "So where are we going, anyway?" asked Harry. "The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh, no. It's always packed and really noisy. I told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, the other pub. It's a bit dodgy, so students don't normally go in there, which means we have a less likely chance to be overheard," answered Hermione. Harry frowned thoughtfully.

"But wouldn't less people mean more likely to be overheard?" asked Harry. Hermione gave him a look that said plainly that she knew more than him.

"Of course not, there are less people there," said Hermione briskly. "Now come on, I don't want to be late," They went past all the regular shops and turned onto a side road that held a small inn. A battered sign hung from it, and it had a severed boar's head on it. The stared at it for a few moments, before Harry went inside.

The Hog's Head was the complete opposite of the Three Broomsticks. The Hogs Head was dirty and smelled a lot like goats. Little daylight came through the windows, for they were very grimy. There were candles on rough wooden tables, and the floor was so filthy that it looked like the earth.

Almost everyone in the Hog's Head had their face hidden. Harry remembered that Hagrid had mentioned the Hog's Head in his first year, because Hagrid had won an illegal dragon egg here. There was a man at the bar that was thoroughly rapped in bandages, but that didn't stop him from drinking a lot. There was a witch in the corner with a veil that went down to her toes and two people who were in hoods and looked like dementors.

Harry glanced around nervously, not liking the aura of this place. He glanced at the witch, and decided that it couldn't be Umbridge because Umbridge was much shorter than her. "Are you sure we're allowed in here?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Yes, I've triple-checked the rules and there's nothing that says we can't come in here. I even asked Professor Flitwick, and he said we can but strongly advises bringing our own glasses," answered Hermione.

The barman came out of the back room that moment, and sidled toward them. He was a grumpy looking man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard. He looked vaguely familiar to Harry, but he couldn't place where he saw him before.

"What?" he grunted.

"Three butterbeers, please," said Hermione.

"Six Sickles," said the barman, bringing up old and dirty looking bottles. They went over to a table and sat down. Ron glanced over at the bar with enthusiasm.

"You know what? I bet we could get some firewhisky, and I bet that bloke wouldn't even care," said Ron. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I really don't want to be dragging you back to the castle while you are drunk, Ron. That would be an awkward conversation if anyone found us like that, 'yeah, we got drunk on firewhisky so we need to go lay down'. My mother would skin me alive. Add to the fact that you're a prefect, and would most likely lose you're badge if you did," said Harry. Ron blushed.

"Didn't think of that," he muttered.

"So, who's meeting us?" asked Harry, taking a swig of his butterbeer.

"Just of couple of people, oh, that might be them now," said Hermione as the door to the pub opened. A whole crowd of people came in. First was Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvarti and Padma Patil with Cho Chang and one of her girlfriends, then Luna Lovegood, who they had meet on the train and was a very dreamy girl:Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Flinch-Fletchly, Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff girl who Harry didn't know, three Ravenclaws Harry was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot: Ginny, a person who was on the Hufflepuff quidditch team, and in the rear, Fred and George Weasley with Lee Jordon.

"A couple of people?" Harry snarled at Hermione. "Of yeah, this is _a couple of people_,"

"The idea was popular," shrugged Hermione.

"Hi," said Fred, reaching the bar first and quickly counting his companions, "can we have… twenty-five butterbeers please?"

The barman glared at him for a moment, before passing up butterbeers from under the bar. "Cough up, everyone, I don't have enough gold for these," said Fred.

Harry was feeling a bit numb, as he had thought that there were only a few people who knew about this. He wondered if they were expecting a speech, so he turned to Hermione.

"What have you been telling people? What are they expecting?" he asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, I'll speak to them first," said Hermione soothingly. At that point, Neville took a seat across from him and smiled encouragingly. Harry tried to smile back, but found his mouth a little dry. Cho and her friend sat down by Ron, and Cho's friend gave him a look that said plainly that she didn't want to be here. Before long, everyone was seated and they were all watching Harry.

"Er… hi," said Hermione as she stood up to address the table. The group quickly focused their attention on her, though eyes kept going back to Harry every once in a while.

"Well, you know why you're here," started Hermione. Her voice was higher than normal from her nerves. "Harry had the idea, well, I had the idea, that it might be useful if Harry taught us some Defense Against the Dark Arts, because Umbridge really hasn't been teaching us anything of use," said Hermione, her voice growing more confident. People nodded in agreement and Hermione looked heartened. "And I'm sure we all want to learn how to defend ourselves,"

"I bet you just want to pass your O.W.L.," accused Michael Corner.

"Well, I do, but that isn't the reason. We need to be able to defend ourselves because V-Voldemort is back," she stammered out.

The reaction was immediate and predictable. People gasped and twitched, and then everyone focused on Harry.

"Where's the proof that You-Know-Who is back?" said the Hufflepuff player in an aggressive voice.

"I saw him," answered Harry, speaking up for the first time.

"Really? And how do we know you're not lying?" asked the Hufflepuff.

"Who're you?" asked Ron rudely.

"I'm Zacharias Smith," said the boy, "and I think we should hear exactly why he thinks he's back," Harry sighed. He had thought that this might happen, that people would be more interested in hearing why he thought he was back then learning defense.

"I saw him come back," started Harry, "But I'm not going to waste this afternoon trying to convince you of something that you refuse to be convinced of, even with all the evidence right in front of you. Who do you thing attacked Diagon Alley last summer? That was no accident, and the Ministry was just trying to cover up an attack made by death eaters," said Harry. It seemed everyone was listening, even the barman.

"Is it true that you can produce a patronus?" asked a girl.

"Yes," said Harry, raising his eyebrow.

"A corporeal patronus?"

"Yeah," Harry had studied a bit about patroni, and found that a corporeal patronus was one that could take form.

"I'm Susan Bones," the girl said. "I heard that you can produce a stag patronus,"

"Yeah, it's true," said Harry.

"And did you kill that basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" asked Terry Boot.

"Yeah, I did," said Harry, starting to feel awkward.

"And in your first year, didn't you save the Sorcerer's Stone?" asked Neville.

"And that's not to mention," said Cho, "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year,"

"I had a lot of help with all that stuff," said Harry uncomfortably.

"Not with all of it. Like the dragon, that was some cool flying," said Michael Corner.

"Well, I did some things without help," said Harry.

"Well, are we in agreement that we want Harry to teach us?" asked Hermione. There was a murmur of agreement around the table. "Right," said Hermione, looking relieved, "Well, we need to know how often we will meet, and where we will meet,"

"There's no point in meeting more than once a week," said Harry.

"We have to make sure that this doesn't clash with quidditch practice," added in Angelina.

"I'm sure we can find a time that suits everyone," said Hermione. People nodded in agreement.

"What about where we're going to meet?" asked Harry.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," said Hermione. She rummaged in her bag, and pulled out a piece of paper. "I think we should all sign this so we know who's all going to be going here. We should also agree not to tell anyone about this," said Hermione. Fred reached out for the parchment and signed his name cheerfully. Some people didn't look happy about putting their names down, but a bit of persuasion convinced them otherwise.

People starting leaving after that, and Harry, Ron and Hermione walked out onto the road, chatting happily.

"I think that went well," said Hermione. Harry nodded in agreement. "I doubt that Michael Corner would even be here, though, if it wasn't for Ginny,"

"What do you mean?" asked Ron sharply.

"Well, she's dating him, isn't she?" asked Hermione. Harry felt a strange feeling rise in him.

"WHAT?" shouted Ron. "Which one was he?"

"The one sitting next to Ginny," said Hermione vaguely.

"I didn't like him," said Ron instantly.

"Big surprise," muttered Hermione.

"Why didn't Ginny tell me about him?" exclaimed Ron.

"Because she knew you would react like this!" snapped Hermione. Ron glared at Hermione. "But what about you, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"What about you and Cho?" asked Hermione. Harry blushed a little.

"What are you talking about?" he said quickly.

"Oh, don't try to hide it. It's obvious that you like her and she likes you," said Hermione.

"How do you know that?"

"Because she couldn't take her eyes off you, could she?" said Hermione. For some reason Harry didn't find this fact very comforting. Suddenly the people ahead of them started screaming. Harry saw people in black cloaks and white masks began to appear in the road. Hermione gasped and Harry pulled out his wand. Ice, who was around his shoulders, poked his head out of his robes. Ron stared at the snake.

"Harry, is that a snake?" asked Ron. Harry felt like banging his head against something. He had forgotten to tell his friends about Ice. The whole time he had just assumed that they had known. The screaming increased, and they hurried forth into the battle.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione got split up in the crowds. Harry began to shoot stunners at the death eaters. He ducked a shot that came from behind him and turned around. He faced a death eater.

It was a female death eater. She looked to be very graceful, and had piercing, violet eyes that seemed to see right through you.

"Oh, look, I found Potter," she said. She had an ice-cold voice. Harry ignored her and began to shot spells at her. They began to duel.

* * *

James ran around, stunning as many death eaters as he could. He was looking for Harry, but couldn't find him. Suddenly he came across a death eater.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" said the smooth voice of Lucius Malfoy. James growled and raised his wand.

* * *

Sirius ran past James, who was dueling Lucius, and past Lily, who was dueling a large death eater. He needed to find Harry and his friends before they did anything stupid. Suddenly, a very familiar voice sounded to him.

"Oh, lucky me, I get to duel my favorite cousin,"

Bellatrix Lestrange had broken out of prison, and was now raising her wand against him.

* * *

Harry panted heavily as he struggled to keep up with the death eater. She was fast and knew more spells than him. He kept firing spells, but she kept dodging them. Suddenly, she gripped her arm and smiled at him.

"Well, it looks as though our time to have fun is up, Potter. I must be leaving now," she said, and before he could dodge, or put up a shield, she shot a brown beam of light at him that hit him right in the chest. The last thing he heard was her cold laughter as blackness overcame his vision.

* * *

A/N: Well, how did you like that chapter? Please review! Give me your opinion! And please go and look at my website! 


	18. Chapter 18

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 18**

Remus ran through Hogsmeade, looking for his friends. The death eaters were apparating out now, but there were still some lingering. He saw Sirius dueling Bellatrix, James dueling Malfoy, and Lily dueling Crabbe, but he couldn't find any of the teens anywhere. He knew that they had been at Hogsmeade when they had attacked, but he didn't know where. At that moment, he spotted Harry dueling an unknown death eater. Remus ran towards him, and saw a brown curse fly from the death eaters wand and straight into Harry's chest. Harry dropped unconscious almost immediately.

The death eater went forward, and was about to grab Harry when Remus shot off a stunner. The death eater dodged it and apparated away before he could even tell whom it was. Remus ran forward and grabbed Harry. He checked for a pulse and was relieved to find one.

Remus picked Harry up and turned around, intending to go to the castle so Harry could get help. Lily and James, who had finished fighting their death eaters, ran towards him.

"What happened?" asked Lily. She looked anxious and she quickly checked Harry's pulse.

"I'm not sure. All I saw was a death eater shot a curse at him, then him falling down," said Remus. James quickly took Harry out of his arms and into his own.

"We should get him back to the castle. Do you know where the others are?" asked James. Remus shook his head.

"I only found Harry, and then you two came running up," answered Remus. There weren't many death eaters left in the town, and people were helping the wounded. Aurors began to apparate in, even though they missed the battle entirely. Hermione, Ron, and Sirius ran up to them at that point.

"What happened?" asked Hermione, looking panicked.

"We're not sure. All I saw was Harry getting hit with a curse," said Remus. "Come on, we should get him up to the castle," They ran to the castle, and all of them were severely out of breath when they reached the front door. They had to stop for a little to catch their breath. When they all stopped panting for a little, they resumed running.

They made it to the hospital wing quickly. Lily went to fetch Madam Pomfrey as James set Harry down on a bed.

"Good heavens! What happened?" asked Madam Pomfrey as she came out of her office.

"An attack in Hogsmeade," answered James. "We're not sure what he was hit with," She nodded and started casting spells on Harry while they all stepped aside. After about ten minutes, Madam Pomfrey turned to them.

"It's nothing severe. He was hit with an exhaustion curse. It takes all of the exhaustion that he had been feeling the past month and manipulates it so where he was feeling it all right then. He should wake up soon, maybe in a few hours," said Madam Pomfrey. Lily paled, realizing that with how much Harry had stayed up the past month, it would be lucky if he woke up in a week.

Harry slowly returned to conscious to hear two people arguing near his bed. "I can't believe it! Can't you be mature for a second? Really, bribing Peeves to drop dungbombs on Snape, could you get anymore immature?" someone shouted.

"Of course I can! Anyways, the git deserved it!" someone said loudly. Harry quickly identified the two voices as his parents. He cracked open one eye and saw them sitting by his bed in two chairs. He looked around a little and saw Ginny and Ron sitting there too. They were both watching the argument with amusement, and no one seemed to realize that Harry was awake yet.

Harry was still tired and felt like going to sleep. The only problem was the two very loud people sitting by his bed. So, he did the first thing that came to mind.

James sat in a chair next to Harry's bed, arguing with Lily. He had bribed Peeves to throw dungbombs at Snape, and the result was Lily yelling at him. He opened his mouth to retort and-

WHAM.

James was suddenly hit in the face with a pillow.

"Will you two shut up!" moaned a voice in the bed. James turned to find Harry grabbing his pillow back and putting it over his head in an attempt to block out the noise. James blinked for a moment, before realizing that Harry was awake.

"Harry! Are you okay?" asked James, leaning over and grabbing the pillow from Harry. Harry groaned and pulled the blankets over his head. James pulled the blankets off of him too. Harry curled in a ball and opened one eye that glared at James.

"I'm fine. Give me back my blankets and pillows," said Harry. It was James's turn to glare at him.

"No. Not until you tell us why you were so exhausted the last month that you were out for a week," said James. Harry shot up in bed.

"A week? What was I hit with? Was anyone hurt? Who was the death eater that I had been fighting?" Harry began, asking the questions rapidly.

"Slow down!" said James. "First, yes, a week. You have lots of explaining to do because I know it just can't be the stress of having O.W.L.s. Next, you were hit with an exhaustion curse. It takes all of the exhaustion that you felt the last month and poured it all out at you in one moment. However much sleep you missed that month is how many hours you were out. We all thought you would wake in a couple of hours, maybe a day because of O.W.L.s, but not a week. Yes, many people were hurt, but none that you knew, unless you count yourself. We don't know who the death eater you were fighting was," answered James. Harry nodded.

"Lots of stuff happened while you were out, mate," said Ron. The others nodded.

"What's happened?" asked Harry.

"Well, Umbridge finally started inspecting lessons for one thing. She already did most the teachers and Trelawny is on probation. That toad also issued a degree that you have to go to her to get any clubs approved, including quidditch. She's been refusing to let the Gryffindor team play, but we took the matter to McGonagall and she helped us, so now we can play," said Ron. Harry nodded.

"The first match of the season is coming up," said James excitedly. Harry smiled at his dad's happiness.

"Bit of bad news, too. Turns out that ten death eaters broke out of azkaban," said Lily, effectively making the air around them grow somber. Harry nodded unhappily.

"I thought so. I knew something was going to happen, my scar hurt a little," said Harry absentmindly. Lily and James suddenly stiffened.

"What do you mean, your scar hurt?" asked Lily, leaning forward in her chair. Harry blinked.

"Oh, my scar hurt a little before Hogsmeade. It usually hurts more, but I had help keeping him out of my mind," said Harry.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked James.

"Didn't feel like it. It wasn't anything serious-,"

"Did someone call my name?" asked Sirius as he swaggered into the infirmary.

"Shut up Sirius, no one wants you here," said James vaguely. Harry rolled his eyes. His father and Sirius said things like that all the time. Sirius sat down in a chair.

"What are you discussing? It sounds serious," said Sirius as he grinned.

"Talking about how Harry didn't tell us his scar had hurt," said James coolly. Harry winced, knowing by that tone that he was in trouble.

"WHAT!" shouted Sirius as he jumped up from his chair. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It didn't seem important at the time and I had a lot on my mind," said Harry. All three adults glared at him while his two friends shifted in their seats, feeling uncomfortable at the turn that the conversation had made.

"What do you mean that you have a lot on your mind? All you need to worry about is O.W.L.s and quidditch!" said James.

"I just do!" snapped Harry. He could tell right away that it wasn't a valid excuse.

"Yeah, you have an illegal defense club to worry about," said Lily. Harry, Ron, and Ginny gaped at her.

"How did you know?" asked Ron.

"Remember that witch with the veil in the Hogs Head? That was Mundungus Fletcher, and he's a part of your guard," said Sirius.

"My guard?" asked Harry.

"Didn't we tell you? Because your in so much danger, you have a guard around you at all times when you're not at Hogwarts," said James. "They're all part of the order,"

"I don't need a guard!" said Harry, feeling a little insulted.

"How can you say that as you sit in a hospital bed after being hit by a curse?" asked Lily. Harry glared at her.

"Well, one tends to get hit with a curse every once in a while," snapped Harry. "It was nothing serious,"

"That brings us back to the reason that you were out for so long. What has got you so exhausted?" asked James.

"O.W.L.s," said Harry.

"There's no way! When I was in fifth year I wasn't up all night like that!" said Sirius.

"Well, I have a lot of pressure on me," said Harry, as he purposely glanced at Lily. She played the part well and looked a little ashamed. The doors burst open at that point and Hermione and Remus came in.

"Guys! We found a counter-curse to the curse that hit him if he doesn't wake up-," started Hermione, but she stopped when she saw Harry sitting up in bed.

"How long have you been awake?" asked Remus.

"About a half-hour," answered Harry. Hermione sighed.

"Well, that research was wasted. At least you're awake now," said Hermione. Harry gave her a smile. Remus narrowed his eyes.

"Why were you asleep for so long?" he asked suspiciously.

"O.W.L.s," said Harry. As Remus opened his mouth to protest, Harry quickly cut him off. "Before you say anything, we've already been over this. I have lots of pressure on me. Now, when can I get out of here?"

"You were out for a week! Of course you're staying in here for at least another night!" exclaimed Lily. Harry groaned.

"It was only a week! I feel fine!" protested Harry. Lily glared at Harry sternly.

"I could always put a body-bind on you so you couldn't move," threatened Lily. Harry made a small choking noise in the back of his throat.

"You wouldn't dare," said Harry, but his eyes looked unsure.

"Yeah, she would. She did it to me once when I got a quidditch injury and tried to leave without Pomfrey knowing. She decided that I should stay there for as long as the nurse said I should. That was a very long week," said James.

"Ah, good times," said Sirius with a faraway look in his eyes. "I miss those times when a simple hex could shut you up. Now I can't seem to,"

James glared at Sirius then turned back to Harry and said, "Anyways, don't bother to try and sneak out, we have cameras everywhere and Lily wouldn't think twice about dragging you back here,"

"Oh! Harry! You'll be happy to hear that I have all of your homework here!" said Hermione cheerfully. Harry groaned.

"Just throw it all out. Can't the teachers just accept that I was out and not force me to do extra work?" moaned Harry.

"But you need this! You might fall behind in class!" said Hermione with a scandalized look on her face. Harry threw his pillow at her.

Remus waited until everyone else but him and Harry were out of the hospital wing before turning sharply to Harry.

"So tell me the real reason you were out so long," said Remus.

"O.W.L.s," said Harry again.

"No, I know that even Lily pressuring you can't be that hard. Does this have anything to do with the animagus transformation?"

"What!" said Harry.

"I smelt your fear nervousness when you were telling us about your second form. There's something you're not telling us," said Remus, leaning forward in his chair and looking Harry straight in the eyes.

"I… don't know what you're talking about,"

"Yes you do. You wouldn't have paused if you didn't know,"

"Okay, fine, but you can't tell anyone! Erm, you see… I don't just have one form," said Harry.

"What do you mean? Can you access your second form?"

"Well, yeah, and I can access my third, fourth, and fifth one too," said Harry.

"What! You have five forms!" exclaimed Remus.

"Yeah. You know two of them, a hawk and a lion, but I also have a golden phoenix, a ferret, and a dragon,"

"What breed of dragon?"

"I don't know. I looked around in the Potter library and in the Hogwarts library, but I can't find it,"

Remus just stared at him for a while, before shaking his head in amazement.

"Only you, Harry. Only you," he said.

Harry lay in bed thinking long after Remus left. He hadn't even told Remus the whole truth, only the part about him being a multiple animagus. Lily knew most of the truth, Remus barely knew part of the truth, and Ginny knew the entire truth. It was beginning to get hard to tell who knows what.

Harry sighed and looked around for Madam Pomfrey. She was in her office. Harry slowly stood up and began to sneak to the door. He was halfway out the door when a shout came from Madam Pomfrey. Harry, not knowing what else to do, took off running.

He came panting to a stop in front of the portrait hole. He hurriedly said the password and climbed into the common room. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all sitting at a table in the corner. Harry made his way over to them and sat down in the open seat. Hermione looked up in surprise.

"Madam Pomfrey already released you?" she asked quizzically.

"She might have, I dunno, I didn't stick around long enough to find out. I just ran for it," shrugged Harry.

"You mean you ran away from the hospital wing? Bloody Hell! I wish I could do that!" exclaimed Ron.

"Ron!" said Hermione disapprovingly. "Harry, you should go back. Madam Pomfrey didn't give you permission to leave!" she scolded.

"It's not like I'm hurt or anything. I'm completely fine," said Harry.

"You don't know that! There might be some unexpected side effect!"

"And if that happened then I would go to Madam Pomfrey. But so far I haven't suffered any side effects that I know off," said Harry. Hermione glared at him.

"But-,"

"Hermione, just leave it. You know you won't convince him to go back," said Ron. Harry nodded and pulled out his homework from the bag Hermione gave him.

"I don't know when I'm going to get this all done," aid Harry, gazing mournfully at the bag. Ron snickered.

"I'm glad I'm not you right now, mate," said Ron. Harry glared at him and made a very rude gesture that Hermione glare at him for. Ginny gave a stifled laugh that made Hermione turn her glare on her.

"It's not funny! You'll set a bad example for the first years!" said Hermione, gesturing to where the first years sat.

"What do you mean? They have worse mouths than us! Have you ever heard them?" said Ron. "Even I'm impressed with their vocabulary!"

"Ron, I'm sure it's just your imagination-," started Hermione, but before she could finish the portrait hole burst open and James and Sirius walked in. There weren't many people in the common room, but the people that were there stared at them in surprise. James and Sirius walked over to where Harry was.

"Harry, we're supposed to be bringing you back to the hospital wing," said James as they reached their table.

"Of course, we aren't really going to bring you back. So how did you do it? I've tried so many times to escape from her clutches and she always seems to catch me," said Sirius.

"I just ran for it," said Harry.

"Want a game of exploding snap?" asked James, holding out a deck of cards. Harry nodded and soon they were all playing the card game. About twenty minutes later a very annoyed Lily came through the portrait hole. As soon as she saw them playing exploding snap, she gave a low snarl and began advancing menacingly towards James, who had just spotted her.

"Erm… this isn't what it looks like?" said James meekly. Lily's glare intensified.

"Oh, then what is it?" she asked in a voice promising pain.

"It's… a… healing game! Yeah! See, these are special cards that help Harry heal!" said James as he held up a card. Of course, with his luck, the card exploded right in his face. Lily put her hands on her hips.

"I should have known not to trust you with bringing Harry back. Come on Harry… where did he go?" asked Lily as she realized that he wasn't in his seat anymore. Lily looked around the common room for a moment before shrugging and heading up to the boy's dormitory's to see if he had gone there. As soon as she was out of sight, Harry emerged from under the table.

"That was a close one," sighed Harry.

"Ah ha! I knew it!" said Lily as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She held Harry's invisibility cloak in her hands. "I knew you where hiding somewhere. Come on Harry, you too James, let's go," she said as she ushered them out of the common room. Harry sent a pleading look back at Ron and Hermione, but they only waved cheerfully at him. Harry sent them a betrayed look.

As they went back to the hospital wing, Lily was scolding both James and Harry thoroughly. "Harry, you could have been hurt if there was some unexpected side effect to that curse, and James, you should know better than to start playing games when you're supposed to be bringing them back!" said Lily angrily.

"Yeah, but I feel fine! It's not as if I'm going to collapse dead at any moment!" argued Harry. James just had an amused look on his face.

"I don't care! And you might _have _died!" said Lily.

"Okay, now you're just being paranoid," said Harry. "There is no way I'm going to die because of an exhaustion curse. Hell, a killing curse didn't even kill me!"

"Harry! Language!" Lily said sharply. "You've spent too much time around Sirius, that stupid foul mouth…" Harry had to listen to his mother's rants all the way to the hospital wing. When they got to the hospital wing, he had to endure Madam Pomfrey fussing about leaving the wing. She was, predictably, furious. Before long, Harry was put back in his bed, sulking.

Lily and James both left after a while, and Lily was still going on about irresponsible people when they walked out the door. When he was sure that they were all gone, he began to sneak out again. Madam Pomfrey caught him this time, though.

"MR. POTTER! Get back in bed this instant!" she shouted from her office. Harry winced and went back to his bed. He climbed in slowly. He made a couple more escape attempts, but they all failed. Before long Madam Pomfrey had had enough and cam out of her office and put him in a body-bind.

"I can't believe you made me do that!" she scolded as she put her wand back in her pocket. Harry hadn't seen the curse coming and hadn't expected the nurse to use it. "Now, when I feel that you have learned your lesson about sneaking out of the infirmary, then I will lift the curse from you,"

So now Harry had to sit and stare at the ceiling. It was two hours later that Madam Pomfrey finally lifted the body-bind. As soon as she went back into her office, Harry slowly snuck out again, only to run into Ginny at the door.

Harry quickly grabbed her mouth and pulled her out with him. When they were safely a few corridors away he turned to her. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't let her catch me again. She put me in a body-bind when she got tired of me trying to escape," said Harry.

"She used a body-bind?" asked Ginny.

"Yep. She got pretty desperate. I kept trying to sneak out and she kept catching me. It was a boring two hours," said Harry. Ginny laughed and shook her head.

"You are just so crazy," said Ginny.

"I prefer mentally unbalanced," said Harry arrogantly. Ginny rolled her eyes and hit his head.

"Come on before Madam Pomfrey realizes that you're gone," said Ginny. She pulled him along the corridor and before long they were in front of the common room. His friends had all gone off somewhere, and Harry began to head up to his dormitory to get some books. Ginny also had her bag and soon they were both sitting at a table doing homework.

Harry had enough sense this time that when Lily burst through the portrait hole, he ducked under the table and didn't let her see him. Lily marched over to where Ginny was.

"Do you know where Harry is? He's run away again." She said.

"Yeah, I saw him. He came in briefly, before muttering something about finding Hermione in the library," said Ginny smoothly. Lily nodded and exited the portrait hole. Harry shot her a grateful look as he climbed back into his seat. They both resumed doing homework. Lily came in a couple more times, but thankfully Harry was able to avoid her.

After a while Harry grabbed the invisibility cloak and went down into the Chamber, bringing Ice with him. Ice had been in his dormitory while he was in the hospital wing, as Madam Pomfrey had declared him unhygienic. Harry thought this unfair, but was unable to reason with the stern matron.

Harry slid down into the now clean Chamber. He looked around proudly. He really had fixed this place up. Before long, Harry was practicing with his sword and Ice was complaining about how he was ungraceful and that he needed more work. Harry took all of Ice's sarcastic and insulting comments in stride, and before long they were working on animagus transformations.

He began with the ferret first. He felt his body slowly shrinking. Harry blinked when he realized that now he was the size of the ferret. He also had a few patches of fur around his body, and his ears were ferret ears. After concentrating hard, Harry was able to get to his normal size. His ears went back to normal, and the patches of fur disappeared.

Next he did his lion form. His hair turned yellow and wilder than before. Harry suddenly glanced down at an unfamiliar sensation on his rear end. Harry blinked at what he saw.

He had grown a lion's tail.

Harry was ecstatic about the progress he had made. He tried the phoenix form next, and was disappointed because nothing had changed at that form. Harry was beginning to feel tired from all of the practicing that he had done, but shrugged it off. He had dealt with much worse.

He practiced his hawk next, and there wasn't much change on that either. Just one more patch of feathers. He tried his dragon form next, and got two more patches of scales. He smiled happily and changed back to his original state.

At least he tried to.

Harry panicked when he saw that none of the scales had vanished. Harry concentrated very hard and soon all of the scales but one patch vanished. It was a patch on his arm, one that he could easily cover up. It was very near his wrist.

_/Ice! Why can't I change all the way back/ _hissed Harry.

_/You stupid child! You overdid yourself/ _hissed Ice.

_/What? What do you mean/_

_/I mean, you did too much at once. This hasn't happened before because you haven't gotten that far on your transformations, but practicing the transformations take a lot of concentration and a lot of energy. You were able to do it before because you didn't get very far, even though you were tired. You can't undo that because you don't have enough energy or concentration/_

_/But I don't feel tired/_

_/I meant your magical energy is tired! You may be really powerful, but you haven't completely unlocked your potential/ _Ice hissed.

_/What I am supposed to do/ _asked Harry.

_/You should be fine after you get some sleep. You just have to wait for tomorrow/ _said Ice. Harry nodded and exited the Chamber.

A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter. If anyone was wondering, the line breaks wouldn't work, so you'll have to figure out when I change P.O.V.s on your own. Please review, and check out my website!


	19. Chapter 19

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 19**

Harry went straight to bed after he left the Chamber of Secrets. He fell asleep right away and didn't have any of his usual nightmares. Unfortunately, when he woke up, he had no time to get rid of his scales. He was almost late for breakfast, and was woken up with Ron shaking him.

"Come on Harry, it's time to get up," he said loudly. Harry groaned and got up. At first he didn't even remember the scales on his arm. It was when they were going down to breakfast that Harry remembered. He started to concentrate to remove them, but Ron's loud voice interrupted him.

"How much of your homework did you get done?" he asked. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't know that you even cared about anything concerning school," said Hermione.

"I was just wondering," said Ron, throwing a glare at Hermione.

"Anyways, Harry, how much did you get done?" asked Hermione. The conversation went on like that all the way down to the Great Hall. Harry was slightly panicked now, but didn't worry that much. His sleeve of his robe was able to cover the scales.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to eat. Harry ignored his mother's glare at the head table and his father's and Sirius's proud smiles. He had escaped both Madam Pomfrey and Lily after all…

Harry reached for some pumpkin juice.

His sleeve rose a few inches and showed the patch of scales.

Harry drew back his hand like it had been burned. Harry hurriedly covered up the scales. He glanced around, and was pleased to see that no one had seen them. That was, until he turned to Hermione. She was looking, transfixed, at his arm. She turned her gaze at his face, and Harry flushed a little. He leaned towards her and whispered in her ear.

"It was a charms accident. My mom and I started experimenting a little, and that was the result. Please don't tell anyone. I don't really want people to know that I have a patch of scales on my arm," he whispered. Hermione nodded, but still looked a little suspicious.

"How are you going to fix it?" she muttered.

"I was able to find a cure, but I haven't been able to fix it yet," said Harry. Hermione nodded and turned back to her breakfast. Harry gave a mental sigh of relief and went back to his breakfast.

He didn't see a pair of sharp eyes at the staff table watching him with a frown.

Lily was in a foul mood. After breakfast was done, she hurried to where Harry and his friends were. They had just left the Great Hall and were headed to their first class, history of magic, when Lily stopped them. Then she gave Harry a personal howler.

"HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY FROM THE HOSPITAL WING! AND THEN YOU JUST _HAD _TO HIDE FROM ME WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU! CAN YOU BE MORE IMMATURE? JUST WHEN I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE GETTING SMARTER, YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING STUPID!" she yelled. When she calmed down, she glared at Harry.

"Don't think that you're getting away with this. Come to my office at seven tonight," she snapped and walked away briskly, leaving behind Harry, who was flustered and embarrassed, and his friends, who were laughing at Harry's misfortune.

Harry was thankful that he had history of magic next. He was able to concentrate and get rid of the scales. He made sure Hermione was watching, then took out his wand surreptitiously and muttered something under his breath. It was a cleaning charm, but Hermione didn't know that. He winked at her and showed her the scale less skin on his arm. She gave him a small smile and turned back to her notes.

After history of magic they had double potions. Thankfully, Snape didn't seem to be in his usual mood and was preoccupied. Harry concentrated on his potion, and before long the class was over.

They had divination, which Umbridge was supervising. She had started sepervising all divination classes. They had defense after that, which Umbridge hurried to get to. She arrived before them, but by just barely. Harry and his friends sat through another useless defense lesson. After that they went to dinner. When they got to the entrance hall, Malfoy and his cronies stopped them.

"Well, if it isn't Potty and his friends," Harry completely ignored him, pushing Ron in front of him so he didn't try to attack Malfoy.

"What, are you scared, Potter?" came Malfoy's voice again.

"What do you want Malfoy? I have about a million other things that I would rather do right now than listen to you," Harry retorted.

"Like go crying to your Mudblood mother? Really, this school is going to the dogs. I don't know why they let that kind of filth teach,"

"Well, since that _filth_ is right behind you, I believe thirty points from Slytherin and a weeks detention should do it for insulting a teacher," said Lily. Malfoy spun around in surprise, not having seen her come up behind him.

"Move along," said James who was right next to her. Everyone began to go back into the Great Hall. Harry sat at the Gryffindor table. He waited until Malfoy sat down, and no one was watching, before he took a huge scoop of mashed potatoes and threw it at him. It hit Malfoy right in the back of the head, getting potatoes all over his white-blonde hair.

Malfoy stood up angrily and scanned the hall. Harry quickly looked down at his plate. Though, it didn't really work. Malfoy threw some food at him anyway. Harry barely dodged it, and it hit a seventh year Ravenclaw instead. Professor McGonagall, seeing Malfoy throw food, stood up angrily. Before she could say anything, however, both James and Sirius jumped up.

"FOOD FIGHT!" they both yelled. The whole hall paused for a moment, before erupting into chaos. A magical food fight was different then regular food fights. There were mashed potatoe planes that launched gravy bombs, there were floating goblets of pumpkin juice that spilled on your head every time you walked under them, cutlery dancing around, and pies randomly exploding when you got hear them, and fountains of drinks that came out of nowhere.

It took several of Dumbledore's firecrackers for everyone to finally calm down. The entire hall was bathed in food, and no one escaped unscathed. Well, the only bit of food on Harry was a little bit of mashed potatoes in his hair. It turns out that training with Ice did have its advantages.

"Now, I want to know who started it," said Dumbledore, raising his voice a little so everyone in the hall was able to hear him. Everyone glanced shiftily at each other. Harry gave in inward smirk. No one was going to know that he started it…

"It was Malfoy!" someone shouted. There was a murmur of agreement around the hall. Draco was looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Mr. Malfoy, did you start the food fight?" asked Dumbledore, looking down his crooked nose at the boy.

"NO! Someone threw some food at me, so I threw back!" protested Draco. "I wasn't the first one to throw the food. And anyways, Black and Potter are the ones who yelled food fight," drawled Malfoy.

"Yes, well, they will be punished," said Dumbledore, throwing a severe glance at James and Sirius. They looked completely unconcerned. "We're looking for the person who actually started throwing the food,"

"It was Potter!" said Malfoy almost instantly. People looked at each other uneasily.

"You would think it was me even if it was the person sitting next to you who threw it," said Harry calmly. Sirius didn't even bother to cover his snickers, which Dumbledore threw another sharp glance at him for. Malfoy glared at Harry.

"Well, since the original person who threw the food won't speak up, everyone will have to clean the hall without magic," said Dumbledore. There were many groans throughout the room. Dumbledore waved his wand, and mops, rags, brooms, and other cleaning supplies appeared throughout the room.

There were more groans, and people began to reluctantly to clean the place up. No Slytherin even made a move towards one of the cleaning supplies. Harry cheerfully picked up a rag and began to scrub the Gryffindor table fiercely. A lot of people were beginning to look at him as if he were crazy. Harry just smiled and began to hum under his breath. Humming was something that he used to do at the Dursley's house when he was sure that they couldn't hear him. It made cleaning much better for him.

Hermione joined him in cleaning the table. Only about a dozen people were even trying to clean up. Most of the others were shaking their heads.

"Enough!" said Dumbledore suddenly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Dumbledore again. "Thank you to the people who started cleaning. As not many people did this, I'll modify the punishment. Everyone who wasn't cleaning please sit down. Or crouch down," said Dumbledore, glancing at the dirty benches. Almost everyone in the hall either sat down or crouched down.

"Now, everyone who remained standing can leave the hall now. You were the only ones to take responsibility for your actions, so you won't be punished anymore," said Dumbledore. Many people stared at him in disbelief. Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged. He turned and began to walk out the doors. The people who started cleaning followed him, looking a little skeptical.

As soon as they were out of the hall Hermione began to rant. "I can't believe those people! Leaving us to do all the work!" she began, not realizing that no one was listening to her. "Even Ron! They're so immature! Right Harry? Harry?" she asked, but when she turned, he couldn't find him anywhere. She huffed when she saw him hurrying the opposite direction that she had been heading in.

Harry sighed as the entered the portrait hole. He had to endure Hermione talking about how irresponsible people were when she had caught up with him. Right now she was still talking about it, and Harry had long ago stopped listening.

Not that Hermione realized that.

"…and I can't believe that Sirius and James were the ones who practically started it! If they hadn't shouted…"

Harry grabbed his bag and pulled out some homework. Hermione was still ranting, so he pulled out his wand and tried a new spell that they had just learned.

"Silencio," he muttered. Hermione's voice was instantly extinguished. Now she just looked madder. Harry completely ignored her attempts of getting his attention as he began to do his homework. He still had a lot from when he was unconcious.

At that point, Rin and the others came through the portrait hole. They looked a bit sore, and when Harry looked questioningly up at Ron he said, "We had to clean and polish the entire hall without magic. Then everyone had to do it to the entrance hall too," he moaned. "My back is killing me. Hey, what's wrong with Hermione?" asked Ron.

"I silenced her," replied Harry as he went back to his homework. Unfortuantly for him, Ron shrugged and took out his wand.

"I need to try out the counter-curse," he said. Harry shrugged, not thinking that Ron would be able to do it.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! HOW DARE YOU SILENCE ME! ESPECIALLY WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" she shouted. Harry glared at Ron, who shrugged a bit guiltily.

"You were off on one of your rants, and that was the only way to stop you," said Harry unconcernedly. Hermione glared at him some more, until she realized that Harry really didn't care. She gave up after that.

"What time is it?" she asked. She had obviously forgotten her watch upstairs. Ron glanced at his watch.

"Half past seven. Why?" Ron said.

"I'm supposed to go to the library around eight," said Hermione. Harry stopped listening at that point. Why did he feel like he had to do something at seven… Harry suddenly jumped up from his seat.

"Oh, damn!" he shouted as he began to pack his bag up quickly.

"Harry? What's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"My mum! She told me to go to her office at seven tonight! I'm late! I'm dead!" he exclaimed as he began to rush around, gathering his stuff. Ron began to laugh until Harry silenced him with a very nasty look. That shut him up quickly.

Harry ran down to her office. He was out of breath by the time he got there. He knocked on her door and waited until he heard her say come in before going in. He tried not to appear too breathless as he walked in, but he knew that his appearance stated otherwise.

"You're late," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"I know. I forgot," he said, complelety unapologetic. That was a bad move.

"Why do you sound so happy about it?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"I don't," said Harry instantly. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"You forgot on purpose," she said coolly.

"I did no such thing!" said Harry heatedly. Lily shrugged, but still looked at him suspiciously.

"You will be helping me grade papers for your punishment," she said.

"I do that anyway," said Harry as he sat down in the seat in front of her desk. She glared at him. Harry glared back. She pushed a pile of parchment towards him and he begnaq to grade them.

That was how the evening went on. The only sound in the office was the scratching of quills and Harry's occasional snort when he read something that was completely made up. Lily glared at him when he did that, not that he acknowledged her glare. It didn't really affect him that much anymore.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to the Great Hall the next morning. Harry had spent most the night helping his mother grade papers, so he missed out on training. Not that he really _missed_ it, though.

As they settled into their seats in the Great Hall, there was suddenly a loud bang. Pink smoke filled the hall and everyone was covered in it, and many coughs were heard throughout the hall. When the smoke cleared, nothing had changed. No one spoke for a moment. Then a small chattering broke out among the students.

"What was that about?" asked Ron as he stared at Sirius and James accusingly. The two men were doing their best to look innocent. It wasn't working.

"Oh, Ron, it was a prank! You can be so stupid sometimes-," started Hermione, but suddenly with a small 'poof' she was gone. Everyone in the hall sat stunned, except for James and Sirius. Then a small chatter was heard from under the table. Harry reached under and pulled out a small, pink mouse. Everyone stared at it for a moment. Then people started laughing.

"Look! The Mudblood finally-," shouted someone from the Slytherin table, but was cut off when another 'poof' was heard and the Slytherin also changed into a pink mouse. Harry was getting a suspicion of what was happening. Hermione 'poofed' back into her regular form with her face all red.

"It seems like it reacts to any sort of insult," said Harry loudly. Many people turned to look at him skeptically. He turned to Ron. "You're stupid," he said. Next thing he knew everything was suddenly very large. He gave a small squeak of surprise. Ron's large hand reached out and grabbed him. After a few minutes, he was back to his normal size. Many people were looking at each other uncomfortably. Now that they knew what the prank was, all they had to do was avoid saying any insults, right? Very easy, right? Wrong.

All day long there was poofs and people becoming small pink mice. It was extremely difficult in the corridors when people threatened to step on you. The prank eventually stopped in dinner. There was a rumor that Snape had stayed a mouse all day.

James and Sirius were beaming around at everyone. It seemed that they were very happy that their prank went off successfully. They too had been turned into mice many times.

Lily glared. James glared back. Lily glared some more. James glared some more back.

"Stop pranking!" she snapped, finally tiring of their glaring match. James had a triumphant gleam in his eye.

"No," he responded. Lily glared at him again.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight," she snarled. Sirius began to laugh at his misfortune. James simply glared at Sirius.

Ginny glared. Harry glared back. Ginny glared some more. Harry glared some more back.

"Stop doing this!" said Ginny, finally tiring of their glaring match.

"No," Harry responded. Ginny glared some more at him.

"I'm not speaking to you," said Ginny. Harry simply raised his eyebrow. Ginny stomped her foot in frustration. "Fine! Be that way! I won't some with you in the Chamber! But, what if Lily just happened to find out that you have five forms…"

"Are you blackmailing me!" asked Harry. Ginny smirked.

"I'm glad you caught on so quickly," she said. Harry glared at her. Ginny glared back.

"Fine then. You can come with me in the Chamber. And I will find you a small sword you can practice with. But don't think that this ends this argument," said Harry.

"Thank you!" said Ginny. She launched herself at Harry, intent on giving him a hug. She felt Harry stiffen under her, and realized why. Here she was, in the boy's dormitory, hugging a boy. Yes, if anyone walked in right now they would get the wrong impression. So, of course, the worst person possible walks in.

"Oy, Potter, what are you doing with my sister?" asked Ron as he stopped in the doorway. Harry looked at him sheepishly.

"It wasn't me!" he said instantly. Ginny untangled herself from him and resisted the urge to snicker. That was the guiltiest thing that she had ever heard. It pretty much screamed 'I'm guilty'.

"It really wasn't him, Ron," said Ginny soothingly. Ron looked at them suspiciously.

"Like I believe that," he said as he strode forward to pull Ginny away from Harry. Ginny didn't like that course of action at all.

"What the hell are you doing! I swear, I am going to-," and then she began to speak to him in a language that she had learned from living with boys all her life. Both Harry and Ron were looking a bit pink after her rant.

"Erm, I'll just leave you two alone then," said Ron as he hurriedly left. Harry looked at her admiringly.

"Where did you learn all that?" he asked with awe in his voice. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"When you live with brothers like mine, you can't help but learn that," she said. She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Well, shall we go?" asked Harry. Ginny nodded and he got out the invisibility cloak from his trunk. He swung it around them. Ginny slowly walked down the staircase with him, and before long they were out in the corridor. Harry crept along, and Ginny couldn't help but admire the grace with which he walked.

All the girls in school had noticed the gradual change in Harry. He was walking gracefully, making it look like he was forever dancing. He had muscles, not the big bulky ones but lean ones that made him look incredibly hot. He also held his head up higher, making it look like he's accepted his fate and was ready to deal with it. Everyone had noticed. All the girls loved it. Ginny was really glad that she was friends with Harry, or else she might have not known better and started another lovesick crush on him. Now that she got to know him, however, she knew that there were many sides to him. If a girl wanted him as a boyfriend, they would most likely break up with him in a week due to the amount of stress and worry that usually came with him.

All of the people surrounding him had accepted his ways. They all knew he had a hero-complex. It wasn't hard to figure out. But it just showed that he had a large heart, even for people that he's never met.

Ginny was shaken out of her musings when the sink opened up to a pipe. Harry smiled at her and she felt her stomach do a flip. She quickly shook the feeling off. She had gotten over her crush on him. She wasn't going to ruin it by doing something stupid.

Harry began to instruct Ginny on how to transform into her horse form. Before long, Harry himself soon found himself trying to transform. He hadn't made much progress except for on the lion. It was coming much quicker than the other forms. At first it was the hawk form, but now he realized that the lion was taking over the lead. If he was lucky and worked hard at it, he might be able to completely transform into a lion by Christmas.

Harry was actually worried about completely transforming. His father had told him about complete transformations. When you completely transform, your animal mind takes over. You have to fight it off, which is why it's always best to have a supervisor to the event. His father and his friends had taken a great risk in doing the transformations by themselves. The reason why your animal mind doesn't take over while you're doing only partial transformations is because the animal in you isn't strong enough.

Harry watched as Ginny had absolutely no luck in getting anything on her form. She was quickly getting frustrated.

"I can't do this!" she shouted finally. She threw her hands up in frustration. "I did everything you told me! I concentrated hard on my form, but I can't get it!" she wailed.

"Don't worry, Gin, I'm sure you'll get it soon," said Harry without really thinking. Ginny turned to him.

"Did you just call me Gin?" she asked. Harry thought back to his statement, then nodded. "You can call me that, but in private. I've always hated when people give me other nicknames," she said. Harry nodded. He felt honored that she was going to let him call her that. He doubted even her brother's were allowed that.

They went back to concentrating on their forms. Harry watched as his lion's tail went back and forth. It felt like it had been there his entire life. When Ginny opened her eyes and saw him with a tail, she yelped.

"Where did that come from?" she asked, pointing at the tail.

"My lion form," said Harry. He threw Ginny a sly look then got down on all fours. Then he began to chase his tail. Needless to say, they were both in laughter for the rest of the night.

A beautiful girl stood looking out the window. She had a glass of wine in one hand. She swirled it around as she looked out into the city. The view was beautiful. But she wasn't concentrating on the view.

Soon. Soon all her plans would come into play. She would be Voldemort's second-in-command. All she needed to do was get rid of her stupid sister.

And then she would capture him.

And then she would be respected among the death eater's. Merlin knows that they needed a few people with some brains in the group. The only one that really had any were her.

All she needed to do was wait. A month. Maybe two. Her sister wouldn't last long. Her sister was never able to do anything right. She downed her glass of wine and went into the kitchen to refill it. She watched the red liquid fill her glass. Red liquid…

She smiled. It was just like blood. Just like blood. She couldn't wait to see blood splattering her feet as she murdered the one person who truly stood in her master's way.

Harry Potter.

She narrowed her eyes at the name.

Soon.

Soon.

A/N: How was it? I almost didn't finish the chapter in time! Thank you to Makotochi, who provided me with the idea for the prank in the chapter. Oh, and if I had more spelling and grammer mistakes in this than my other chapters, I apologize. I uploaded this without doing spellcheck, and when I realized it it was too late to redo everything. I had already made too many corrections and didn't feel like starting over. Please check out my website and review!


	20. Chapter 20

**Returning of the Parents **

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 20

* * *

**

Harry watched in pride as the members of the D.A. did the spell that he just taught them. They had finally found a suitable meeting place, and before long Harry and the others were very into the club. It was an illegal club, but every time he saw Umbridge he couldn't help but have a slight feeling of satisfaction because he was defying her every week.

They couldn't meet more than one night a week, mainly because of quidditch practice. Harry also thought that because the nights were random, it would help throw anyone suspicious of track a little.

After a few meetings Hermione had come up with a brilliant idea. Since it was about the D.A., and knowing how touchy Harry was about it, she had approached him with the idea before she ran it through the others. Harry was thrilled that she could place a spell on galleons so that he could communicate with the other members what date they would be meeting at. In fact, Harry had been so enthused that he had learned the charm also and helped her.

He didn't notice the slightly suspicious look she sent his way when he learned the spell quickly.

* * *

Ginny glowed in pride as Harry praised her on her animagus form. Christmas was coming up quickly, and she had finally made some progress on her horse form. Now she could transform her hands in hooves. Of course, she was exhausted immediately afterwards, but she felt that it was worth the effort. 

She sat down, her legs unable to support her anymore. She watched as Harry tried to transform into his lion form. He had put the others on hold for the moment so he could concentrate completely on that one. He had gotten really far on it.

He could now turn his hair yellow, grow his tail, get lion's paw on both his hands and feet, and could grow patches of fur on his body. Ginny couldn't help but be in awe of him. He made it seem so easy!

Ginny's eyes wandered down to his tail. She loved his tail, the way it went back and forth…

She quickly shook herself out of her reverie and began to concentrate on Harry again. Harry was examining the claws that came with the paws. Ginny had also noticed that his teeth had become a bit sharper too. Hold on… she shouldn't be looking at his mouth! She blushed and turned away. Harry seemed to sense her discomfort.

"Is anything wrong, Gin?" asked Harry. Ginny shook her head. Harry had taken to calling her Gin when they were alone. They both knew that if anyone else ever found out about it, then they would never live it down.

"Nothing's wrong," she said when she saw that Harry was waiting for her answer. Harry nodded and went back to practicing.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, if you will please stay after class," called Professor McGonagall over the shuffling of the students. The bell had just rung and people were rushing out of her class. 

"What did you do?" whispered Ron.

"No idea," muttered Harry. Staying behind was never a good thing with McGonagall. After everyone was gone, Harry approached her desk.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" he asked. She nodded.

"I wanted to know your animagus forms," said McGonagall. Harry nearly fell over in his shock. Not only did McGonagall know, but she also used _forms_. That meant she knew that he had more than one.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor," said Harry carefully.

"Yes you do," she said bluntly. "I've seen you come into the Great Hall with remnants of the training. Scales and different patches of fur. I have sharp eyes, Mr. Potter. You have more than one form, and I want to know what they are. Don't worry, I'm not about to tell anyone," she added, seeing his pale face. He had come into the Great Hall a few times with a couple of patches of fur that he couldn't get off the night before…

"Erm… Professor, please don't tell my parents. They only think I have one form," said Harry. McGonagall nodded.

"I thought so. I guess it was a good idea to cover up the camera, then," she said. Harry turned, and sure enough, he could tell that there was a thin sheet of magic hovering over the camera, making sure that no one saw or heard them.

"Please explain," said McGonagall. Harry sat down in a chair.

"I have five forms," he started. McGonagall's eyes widened comically. "A hawk, a lion, a ferret, a phoenix, and a dragon,"

"A dragon and a phoenix? Five forms?" said McGonagall faintly. Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Just think of how my parents would take it. _I_ was even shocked," said Harry. He felt Ice shift on his shoulders and had a sudden idea. If anyone ever found out about Ice, it would be nice to have a little backup other than his parents.

"I have a little secret to tell you, Professor," said Harry, leaning forward in his chair. He knew that McGonagall could be trusted, even though she seemed stern on the outside.

"What is it?" asked McGonagall. She still looked faint.

"Well, you see, I have a pet that isn't supposed to be at Hogwarts," Harry admitted. "This is Ice," he said as he pulled Ice off his shoulder and set him down on the desk.

"You have a snake!" exclaimed McGonagall. Harry nodded.

"I've had Ice with me since this summer. He's been helping me with my forms. He's also my bonded familiar," said Harry.

"Oh dear. I didn't think that your forms would lead to this," said McGonagall. She was looking like she was about to faint at any moment. "How do you carry him around? Surely he's too large to carry on your shoulders?"

"He just fits, actually. He rests on my shoulders, and trails down my arms and stops between my elbow and wrist," said Harry honestly. Ice looked lazily up at McGonagall and stuck his tongue out of his mouth.

_/She's trustworthy/ _Ice hissed.

_/I wouldn't have told her all that otherwise/_ Harry hissed back. He ignored the annoyed look that Ice gave him and turned back to McGonagall.

"He looks to be small for a snake," said McGonagall. Ice hissed angrily.

"Ice doesn't like to be reminded that," Harry answered McGonagall's unspoken question. McGonagall looked amused.

* * *

Harry sat at breakfast, feeling smug as many people around him were shouting. He had decided that it was time for him to play a prank. He had convinced the house elves to spike the Slytherin's drinks with a potion. Now all of them had red hair. Just to be fair, Harry also put the potion in the Gryffindor's drinks. Now they had green hair. Needless to say, it was chaos in the Hall. The two houses were both blaming each other. 

Harry felt his amusement grow as he saw the Weasley twins looking both angry and lost. It was usually their thing to play pranks, and now someone was taking their spotlight. Harry suspected that before long there would be an all out prank war.

Harry looked up and locked eyes with Professor Dumbledore. Harry suddenly felt a snake-like feeling rise in him, but he pushed it down. He felt the throb that he had come to associate with legilemency, and glared at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked away quickly, a worried frown marring his features for a second. Harry felt his insides freeze suddenly.

All the people that he had told… Lily, Ginny, Remus, McGonagall… they didn't have any protection against legilimency. Harry decided that he would get Ice to teach them all so they didn't go spilling his secrets. Though, they had most likely already revealed them without knowing.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to Ron. He quickly turned away, afraid that his laughing would offend Ron. Ron looked so ridiculous with green hair, even more so than the rest of the house. Unfortunately, Ron saw his laughter.

"Oy! Just because you're finding this amusing, doesn't mean we do!" said Ron indignantly.

"I'm sorry. It's just you look so weird without your Weasley hair!" said Harry. His hand was over his mouth trying to stop his laughter. Ron gave him a nasty look and returned to his breakfast.

Harry glanced at Hermione. She, too, looked unnatural without her bushy brown hair. Green just didn't look good on her. Harry frowned as he noticed Hermione staring at him. She quickly averted her eyes though. She had been giving him strange looks lately.

Harry glanced up at the staff table. There were only two teachers who were victim to this prank, and that would be McGonagall and Snape. Snape had red hair because he was head of Slytherin. McGonagall had green hair because she was head of Gryffindor. Harry smirked. Ginny, who had taken to sitting near him during meal times, leaned towards him.

"Why do I have a feeling that you did this prank?" she asked. Harry raised his eyebrows in mock innocence.

"Why, Gin-Gin, I have no clue what you're talking about," Harry said. Ginny went red with anger. No one, absolutely no one, called her Gin-Gin and got away with it. She plunged her hand into her robes, obviously wanting her wand, but Harry was too quick for her. In one quick movement he had gotten his wand out and had summoned hers. Ginny glared at him.

"I'll get you back for that," she said viciously. Harry chuckled. He turned back to Ron and Hermione. Harry once again found Hermione's eyes on him. This time they looked sharper. Harry suddenly felt a bit cold. It was almost as if she suspected something… but that couldn't be right!

* * *

James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Harry walked up to the Headmaster's office that evening. They were all lost on what he wanted to talk to them about. Harry was completely uninterested. He didn't really feel like doing this, he was just being dragged along by his mother. 

As they entered the Headmaster's office, they realized that the Headmaster in question was looking somber. Harry was instantly put on high alert. Somber Headmasters were never good.

"This mostly concerns James," said Dumbledore after he offered them the customary lemon drops.

"What is it?" asked James with a bit of worry in his voice.

"I have just received word that the Sword of Merlin was stolen out of your vault quite a few weeks ago," said Dumbledore. Harry choked on the lemon drop that he had taken. Lily went a little pale. Sirius gave him an odd look. Harry smiled at him, but with a red face from the choking.

"WHAT!" yelled James. "I swear, when I find out who took that sword, I will-," and then proceeded to say some very foul things. Harry started to feel sick. Lily looked a little sick too, but not just because of James's language. She also feared for Harry, and what would happen if James found out exactly who took the sword.

"What is the Sword of Merlin?" asked Harry. He had decided to play the part of the ignorant person.

"The Sword of Merlin is a very powerful sword. In his life, Merlin had made three different things that were made purely from magic. They were three weapons. One was the Staff of Merlin. Second is the Wand of Merlin. Third is the Sword of Merlin. The Staff of Merlin was long ago lost, and the Wand of Merlin vanished some time ago. The only one of his weapons that were left was his sword. It was kept in the Potter vault. It is very disturbing that it was taken. It holds incredible power, as does the other items. It is made from pure magic, and therefore is much stronger than anything else. Only someone strong can ever hope to wield any of these three things," said Dumbledore. Harry listened with interest. He really hadn't known this stuff.

"So only someone powerful could have taken it?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Which is what disturbs me. The only people I know that could wield the sword would be either Voldemort or me. I don't think that Voldemort has it, so that leaves quite the mystery," said Dumbledore. "It means that either another powerful wizard has come along, or that it just disappeared like the others did,"

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He felt his self-confidence raise a little when he was compared to Dumbledore and Voldemort.

They left the Headmaster's office afterwards. Both James and Sirius were silent, thinking about what they had just heard. Lily was thinking about Harry, and how powerful he was. She was a bit confused. Harry was a little scared. What would happen if his father found out about the sword? He really didn't want to be on the receiving end of his father's anger.

* * *

Lily saw the way that Sirius was looking at Harry. She also saw the way Hermione looked at Harry. They were both beginning to suspect something. How Sirius came upon this was mysterious, but nevertheless, he still knew something was off about him. Then there was the fact that Harry was in shape now, and wasn't in the summer. Harry picked up spells like he had been practicing them everyday beforehand, and Harry was gaining power. James and Ron still remained oblivious. 

Lily sighed. She didn't think that Remus knew either. Harry had told her that he had suspected something, but he had quickly told him otherwise. He had said that was enough to satisfy Remus. But Lily saw that Remus looked at Harry differently too. Almost as if he knew something…

Lily shook her head of these thoughts. She quickly turned to another topic, and scowled when she thought of the D.A. She thought it was a good idea to learn how to defend themselves, but she didn't want him to do it illegally! If they were found out, then Harry's whole life would be thrown away! She did feel a little pride at what her son was doing, though.

"Pass the buttery substance, Lillian," said Sirius. Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius had been trying to act mature all day because of a comment Remus had made.

"How many times have I told you, Black, that Lillian is not my full name, so stop using it! And buttery substance? What is that? It could be anything!" ranted Lily. Sirius paled.

"Never mind," he quickly muttered as he turned away. He seemed to sense that she saw in a bad mood and wouldn't take kindly for jokes right now. Lily glared at him anyway.

* * *

Sirius cast a sleeping spell on James. "Aha," he muttered triumphantly when James fell asleep. They were currently in the Marauder's Quarters. Sirius smirked and lifted a very permanent marker. He was going to pay James back for that prank yesterday.

* * *

When Harry next saw James, he had to turn around to hide his laughter. James face had been colored over with marker. There was marker glassed in his face, a marker mustache, and a marker beard. It made him look ridiculous. James narrowed his eyes when he saw the unmistakable sight of Harry laughing. 

"I'll do this in your sleep to you if you keep laughing," threatened James.

"I'd like to see you try. You'd probably trip over your own feet and end up falling on top of me instead of putting marker on me," said Harry. James scowled as Sirius howled with laughter.

"I would do no such thing!" James protested as they all laughed. They all shot him doubtful glances. James huffed and turned away. Harry smirked.

"Harry, how far are you in your animagus form?" asked Sirius curiously. Harry shrugged.

"Pretty far. I might be able to do the complete transformation soon," said Harry. Sirius started to beam.

"Well, let's see it!" he said cheerfully. They were currently in the Marauder's Quarters with James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Hermione. Harry nodded. He concentrated on his hawk form and felt himself slowly changing.

He blinked when he realized that he had made more progress on it from last time. Last time, he was able to get a lot of feathers, and maybe one or two other traits. Now, not only did he have feathers, but he also had a very large beak on his face. Sirius turned away, laughing at the sight. James stared at him in awe.

"Wow, it took us months to get that far, and you did it much sooner than we ever did!" exclaimed James. Harry felt himself swell up in pride.

He changed back and grinned at them. "I told you that I'd be able to do the complete transformation soon," said Harry happily. Lily beamed at him in pride while the others were in awe. Except for Sirius, who was still laughing at the sight of Harry with a beak.

That night Harry and Ginny both went down into the Chamber. Ginny insisted that Harry not only teach her animagus forms, but also swordsmanship and occulmency. Since Harry had mentioned that Snape and a few others might be using legilimency against her, she had insisted that she learn it. Harry had bribed Ice into teaching him too, so that he didn't have to depend all the time on Ice.

_/The first thing you need to do is organize your mind. You need to go into meditation to do that, so first I will teach you how to meditate/ _started Ice. Harry nodded and relayed Ice's hisses to Ginny.

_/Let me explain a few things. In order to organize your mind, you need to find it. That means that you need to go inside your mind, hence the meditation. Your mind will take the form of a place that you feel safe in. While your mind can change forms, it's very rare. What you need to do is slowly place shields around your place. You will need to organize your memories and thoughts into the said place/ _explained Ice. Harry repeated this for Ginny. Before long, Ice had taught them how to meditate and they were both practicing. It didn't take long for Harry to do it correctly.

And then Harry saw the inside of his mind. Harry had suspected what it would be, but for some reason it still took him by surprise. The place that he felt safest was Hogwarts. It was an exact replica of the real thing. Harry found himself exploring his mind. He found it to be in chaos.

There were thoughts all over. Memories were racing down the hall, thoughts were cluttering up the classrooms, and emotions were running haywire. Harry found himself getting a small headache just from looking at it.

He got out of his meditation and found Ginny blinking back at him. She also looked like she had a headache.

"What did you see?" asked Harry curiously.

"The Burrow," said Ginny. Harry nodded. He had suspected that.

"I saw Hogwarts," said Harry.

_/What do we do next/ _asked Harry.

_/Organize your mind/ _answered Ice.

_/It would be helpful it you told me how/ _hissed Harry.

_/Well, you need to put your memories, emotions, thoughts, and other things were you can find them. For example, at Hogwarts you would put your knowledge of spells in a place where you will remember them. Most likely in one of the classrooms, like the transfiguration or charms classroom. You would put your knowledge of potions in the potions classroom, or maybe you will put your hatred of Snape in the Potions classroom. It's all up to you/ _answered Ice. Harry told this all to Ginny again.

_/It will take you many days to complete this. It is best if you go slowly, so your mind can adapt to the changes/ _said Ice. _/Then there is the shields themselves. You will need to slowly put your magic into the shields until your shields are very strong. This will also take many days. I believe that the shortest time that anyone has ever completed this is two years/_

_/TWO YEARS! I don't have that long/ _exclaimed Harry. Ice gave off the impression that if he had shoulders, he would have shrugged.

_/Good luck/ _hissed Ice. He then slithered away, leaving a fuming Harry and confused Ginny behind. Harry quickly filled Ginny in on the details. Before long they were meditating again. Harry found it quite easy to organize his thoughts.

He soon called the occlumency exercises to a halt, and Harry taught Ginny some basic stances for a sword. Ginny had tried to hold the Sword of Merlin, but found that it rejected her. She just couldn't hold it without it burning her hand.

Then they started doing their animagus transformations. Harry was still just doing his lion form, even thought he had shown his hawk form to the others today, and found that he had a few more improvements on it.

Before, his hair changed, he grew a tail, got paws, and had patches of fur on his body. Now, not only did he have that stuff, but he also had a nose of a lion. Harry realized that if he kept going at this pace, then he would be able to do the complete transformation sometime around Christmas. Harry felt incredibly proud of himself.

Ginny had the same progress as last time. Harry still felt proud of her too, as she wasn't giving up. She had a very determined look on her face. Harry wondered what Ron would say when he realized that Ginny was way ahead of them when it came to animagus forms.

* * *

She sat and nodded as the minister rambled on about something. She couldn't be bothered to know what it was. Cornelius Fudge was so boring… but she couldn't complain. Her master had given her a mission, and she was going to complete it. It wasn't her fault that her sister was dedicated to the ministry and refused to serve her master. It was her sister's mistake, not hers. 

"Isn't that right?" asked Fudge. She plastered an accepting look on her face and nodded.

"Of course it is, Cornelius. You have the best ideas," she said, making sure that there was awe in her voice. She could see the minister swell up at the praise. She felt like being sick.

"Minister, how long are you going to let Dumbledore run the school? He isn't following any ministry guidelines. It's absolutely disgraceful! I'm sure that you could do much better than he ever could!" she said.

"Now now, I'm working on getting him out. He has a lot of supporters, you know," said Fudge.

"Of course. But you have many more, I'm sure," she said. "You'll get him out in no time,"

"Yes, of course I will. How is your sister doing?" asked Fudge.

"She's doing very well, thanks for asking. But I'm sure that with her important position that you've been in contact with her?"

"Yes, well, she hasn't responded to my latest letter,"

"She hasn't? Well, that is troubling. If you sent me a letter, I would make sure to respond to it right away, no matter what I would be doing at the time. You are simply to important to ignore," she said. She saw Fudge swell up in pride again.

She soon left his office. She still felt sick. She hoped that she wouldn't have to hero-worship him for much longer. She couldn't stand the disgust that she felt at the sight of him.

Her sister had overstayed her welcome. She had been so sure that her sister would have messed up by now. It was only a matter of time, then. And then she would be able to deliver Harry Potter to her master. She narrowed her eyes at his name.

Soon.

Soon.

* * *

A/N: How was it? If you have any questions, please ask on my website. I had a difficult time explaining what I wanted occulmency to be in this story. I have no clue how J.K. visualized it in the original story, she doesn't really explain much. Hence, you come up with my version. Please review. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 21

* * *

**

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. The Gryffindor/Slytherin quidditch match would take place soon, in about a week, and they were having many practices. Ron, who had become the keeper, had to be constantly reassured that he wasn't dragging the team down. Angelina, who had become captain after Wood left, looked ready to cry.

Harry sighed and yawned. Right now they were in the Marauder's Quarters. James and Sirius were both sitting on the couch, and Remus was monitoring the cameras. Harry himself was sitting on the floor, trying his hardest not to fall asleep. He didn't trust his father not to color on his face when presented with the chance.

Harry wondered what was taking Lily so long. She had told them that she had been feeling a bit under the weather for a while, and she had decided to go to the hospital wing. Harry thought that it was just a bit of exhaustion, but it from how long she had been gone it looked like it was more then that.

At that moment Lily burst into the room. She looked to be in shock. Everyone glanced up at her, and was taken by surprise by her next statement.

"I'm pregnant,"

James fell off the couch. Sirius blinked in surprise, then when he found that he didn't have a response, settled for blinking. Remus's hand slipped from where it was positioned on one of the monitors, and he fell face down on the floor when he lost his balance. Harry made a choking noise. No one spoke for a minute. And then what she had said set in on Harry.

"So I'm going to have a brother or sister?" he asked carefully. Lily nodded. "THAT'S SO COOL! I'M TELLING RON AND HERMIONE!" and with that, he jumped clean over the couch, ran out of the Marauder's Quarters, and headed towards the common room, leaving a startled Lily and three Marauders who were still in shock.

* * *

"So I'm going to be a father again?" asked James meekly. Lily nodded nervously. Both Remus and Sirius had shaken off their shock and had already congratulated her. James still couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. James stared at her. 

"So I'm going to be a father again," he stated. Sirius, who was on the couch eating some sort of food from the kitchen, snorted.

"You've said that at least ten times now, Jamsie," he said.

"Don't call me Jamsie," muttered James absentmindedly. Sirius snorted.

"James, are you okay?" asked Remus in concern.

"Well, at least he's taking it better than last time. Last time I made the mistake of telling him while he was eating. I have never seen a man choke like that before," said Lily matter of factly. James seemed to regain his senses.

"I'm going to be a father! I can't wait until I tell Harry!" said James exuberantly. He took off towards the Gryffindor common rooms, completely ignoring the fact that Harry already knew.

"That one is mad, I tell you," muttered Sirius.

* * *

Harry soon found himself exhausted. First he had to tell Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that his mother was pregnant. Then his father had come in and yelled it out to the entire common room, in which Harry was glad that it was dinner time and only three other people heard it, and then he actually had to deal with the man and calm him down. Then Harry found himself tired and wanting to go to bed. Unfortunately, Ice was curious as well. 

_/So you're telling me that you've never heard of a human breeding process/ _hissed Harry. He was up in the dormitory, reclining on his bed, with Ice on his stomach.

_/No. My breed of snake has a different way then humans and even other snakes/ _said Ice.

_/What do you mean? I thought that you would have the normal snaky kind of breeding/_

_/Master, please do not make a fool out of yourself/_

_/Shut up/_

_/As you wish/_

_/You know what I mean! Anyways, how is yours different? Wait, I really don't want to know/_

_/You probably wouldn't. Now, how is it that you humans breed/_

Harry had to spend a torturous hour giving Ice "The Talk".

* * *

Ginny watched as Harry went through his normal exercises in the chamber that night. He had been unusually flustered when he had come down, and had avoided looking at her. She had finally forced what was bothering him out of him, and had spent the next five minutes on the ground, rolling with laughter. Harry had become even more annoyed, as had his snake, and Harry was now taking his frustrations out on an invisible enemy. 

Ginny picked up her practice blade and began to go through her exercises. Harry had finally decided to teach her some sword fighting. He had showed her the basic stances, and now she was trying to do them. Every once in a while Harry would look over at her and say what she was doing wrong. Ice was keeping up a continual pace of hissing, and Ginny wondered how Harry could have lived with him for so long without throwing him out the window.

Ginny sighed. Harry was going to have a sibling. Harry was excited, and she was too, but she also knew that Harry would insist on taking care of the baby. Which meant that he was just going to get himself more tired. Ginny felt herself give a slight glare to the stubborn boy at the thought.

Harry caught her glare and raised an eyebrow. Ginny simply looked away and busied herself with her sword. Ice's hisses began to increase, and Ginny had to stop herself from laughing when Harry threw his sword at the snake.

Harry had been using a practice sword, not the Sword of Merlin. Harry had told her that the sword was only supposed to be used when he really needed it, as it was very powerful. Ginny wished that she were as powerful as Harry. She knew that no one would ever really be, though.

Ginny glanced down at Harry's hip. Harry had also told her that he had been placing an invisibility charm on the sword throughout the year so no one would see it on his hip. He kept it with him at all times, and didn't leave anywhere without it.

Ginny blushed when she realized that she was still staring at said hip, and that Harry was raising a now very questioning eyebrow.

"Just thinking," she muttered. Harry snorted and sat down. Ginny walked over to where he was and sat next to her. "Occlumency practice?" she asked. Harry nodded and they began to meditate.

Ginny hadn't made much progress on Occlumency. It was very difficult, and after a while she began to get a headache. Harry lasted much longer than she did, but she could tell that he also had a headache when they were done.

* * *

Harry sighed as he stared at Ice. He had been thinking lately about the Sword of Merlin. He felt honored that the sword accepted him to wield it, but that wasn't what was worrying him. What was worrying him was the other Merlin artifacts. 

Harry knew that they were supposed to be lost, but he knew that they weren't. Wands and staffs just don't mysteriously disappear. He was worried that someone like Voldemort would find one. Harry knew that if that happened it would be an absolute catastrophe.

Harry's eyes were drawn to the red head next to him. She was biting her lip in concentration, and her face was scrunched up. Harry found that the expression was very cute on her. He found himself suddenly wanting to lean forward and kiss her.

Harry found himself horrified at his thoughts. Ginny was Ron's sister! He wouldn't do that to her. He knew that she had given up on him a long time ago.

* * *

"And here we are people! The Gryffindor/Slytherin match of the year!" shouted Lee Jordon over the quidditch pitch. Everyone in the stands was cheering. Harry walked out onto the pitch along with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Ron was looking very green. Harry felt horribly nervous. He had seen the badges on the Slytherin team and knew that it meant no good. Especially with the word 'Weasley' on it. Harry's eyes sought out his parents and he found himself relaxing. He glanced around in the crowd. Hermione was wearing Gryffindor colors, as was Neville and Luna. Luna was also wearing a large lion on her head. 

"And they're off!" Harry shot up in the air along with the rest of the players. He could hear singing, and was felt sick at the lyrics. Unfortunately, Lee Jordon had paused, and the singing had swelled up from the Slytherin stands.

Weasley cannot save a thing, 

_He cannot block a single ring,_

_That's why Slytherin's all sing:_

_Weasley is our King. _

_Weasley was born in a bin,_

_He always lets the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley will make sure we'll win,_

_Weasley is our King. _

Lee began to shout other things, trying to drown out the singing, but it was growing. Harry saw suddenly that his father and Sirius were huddled together, discussing something.

And then his father and Sirius were heading off towards the Gryffindor stands. Harry didn't have time to watch them as he turned back to the game. It was already forty-ten in favor of the Slytherins. Harry felt his anger growing as he saw Parkinson conducting the song.

And then another song took over the pitch from the Gryffindor side.

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasley is our King,_

_He didn't let the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley is our King_

_Weasley can save anything,_

_He never leaves a single ring,_

_That's why Gryffindor's all sing,_

_Weasley is our King. _

Harry gave an astonished glance towards the Gryffindor side, and found his father conducting the song while Sirius is next to him, singing along. Harry glanced at Ron and saw that his ears were very red. To Harry's amazement, the next shot that came towards Ron, he blocked it. The Gryffindor's screamed in triumph. The singing from their side grew louder and drowned the Slytherin's out as the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's joined in.

The singing seemed to have given Ron confidence as he began to easily block the goals. Harry cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Gryffindor pulled into the lead with seventy-forty. And then Harry saw the snitch.

It was hovering near the Gryffindor goal posts. Harry glanced at Malfoy, and was thankful to see that he was all the way on the Slytherin side, and hadn't seen it yet. Harry carelessly floated over to where the snitch was. The snitch didn't seem to even realize that he was there, and Harry plucked it right out of the air.

He signaled to Madam Hooch and raised his fist into the air. The snitch glinted in the light. It took about a minute for everyone to realize that the game was over. Then the cheers were deafening and Harry could see James and Sirius jumping up and down with joy.

A bludger came at Harry, but he easily dodged it. He saw Madam Hooch was heading towards Crabbe, who had shot the bludger.

Harry shrugged and landed. The rest of the team landed around him and began to congratulate him. Malfoy landed nearby them, looking furious that he hadn't even realized that the snitch had been spotted.

"Like our song, Potty, Weasel? After all, you were born in a bin," taunted Malfoy. Ron, whose face was flushed with victory, now flushed in anger. Fred and George also stiffened and looked towards Malfoy.

"Just ignore him," muttered Harry. "He must be sore that he lost the game, after all, he didn't even know I was going after it,"

"We wanted to write a few other verses too, one about your mother being fat and ugly," said Malfoy maliciously. "But we couldn't fit it in. We couldn't get the verse about his father being worthless either…"

Harry held both Ron and George back as they both lunged at Malfoy. He easily held them back as Angelina, Katie, and Alicia held Fred back.

"But then you like the Weasley's, don't you, Potty? You must know that there house stinks just like yours, must be the influence of your mother…"

"At least I have a well off family that's older than yours, Malfoy," snarled Harry. His temper was rising. Malfoy glared.

"That isn't true…"

"Want to test it?" snapped Harry.

"I don't need to. I'll always know that my line is better than yours, seeing as your father married a useless Mudblood," And that was all it took for Harry to snap. His father and Sirius, who were the first on the field, were able to grab Ron and George as Harry let go of them. Harry only saw Malfoy's suddenly panicked face as Harry pulled back his fist and slammed it into his jaw. He was rewarded with a cracking sound, and he knew that he had broken his jaw.

Harry could hear girl's screams, his mother's shouts, his father's and Sirius's cheers, but they were all in the background. It wasn't until he heard a spell being casted that he jumped out of the way. Instead of hitting him, the impediment jinx slammed into Malfoy, hurting him more.

Harry stared as Madam hooch yelled at him. The shouts were barely being comprehended. It wasn't until he heard a very annoying cough that Harry was really roused from his dazed state.

"If I may, Madam Hooch," asked Umbridge in a sickly sweet tone.

"I am sorry, Madam Umbridge, but this is for his head of house," said Madam Hooch.

"Ah, but I have right here a degree that says that I have the right," said Umbridge as she began to look through her green jacket. She soon found what she was looking for and read it off to the slowly approaching crowd. No one spoke as she read what the degree said. Harry saw McGonagall, who was behind him, look furious. His mother, father, and Sirius looked ready to murder someone.

"So you see, I have the right to punish Mr. Potter here," said Umbridge as the crowd began to mutter indignantly. Harry felt his temper rising. "I think that a life long ban form quidditch will do the trick. Also for the three Weasleys, we don't know what they would have done if people hadn't been holding them back,"

Instead of the numbness that Harry thought he would feel, he just felt burning anger. He glanced around and saw that most of the crowd was in shock; except for the Slytherins whose faces reflected their glee.

"No," said Harry calmly. This just shocked everyone further. Harry stared at Umbridge, his eyes burning. "If you are to punish me with a ban for being provoked, then I expect you to ban Crabbe for hitting an illegal bludger at me. I also expect you to ban Malfoy, for being the one who provoked me. And as Fred, George, and Ron technically didn't do anything, you can't punish them. You're right, we don't know what they would have done, which is why you can't punish them,"

Umbridge's face went red with anger. "You can't tell me what to do, Mr. Potter!" she shouted. Harry's face remained calm on the outside, even though on the inside he was about to explode.

"I just did," said Harry as though he were talking to someone very slow. Umbridge glared.

"I have orders from the Ministry-,"

"I don't care," interjected Harry. Umbridge, who was beginning to look a little insane, pointed her short wand at him.

"_Crucio_," she shouted. Harry stood there shocked as an unforgivable curse missed him and went over his shoulder. It hit McGonagall right in the chest. She went down with a scream of agony. Umbridge was really looking insane by this point. She didn't make any move to remove the curse from Umbridge.

"Stupefy!" shouted Harry. The curse shot towards Umbridge and hit her head on. McGonagall got up panting. No one spoke for a moment, until chaos broke loose.

* * *

Harry sighed in annoyance. "And how did I end up in here again?" he asked. He was currently sitting on a bed in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey bustled around, giving out calming potions to panicked students. Harry was currently being checked over for non-existent injuries. He was trying to think about what had happened, but the noise around him was distracting him. 

"That was completely irresponsible-," Lily was saying.

"Awesome! Harry you looked so cool-," that was Sirius.

"Wish I could see that again-," James was saying.

"You should have seen Malfoy's face! A broken jaw, a fractured leg, and a while ton of bruises-," Ron was talking enthusiastically.

"Harry! You had me so worried!" wailed Hermione.

"OY! STOP BOTHERING THE POOR GUY AND SHUT UP!" Ginny screamed over the chaos. The hospital wing went entirely silent, and then soft murmurings erupted, many people staring at Ginny curiously. She glared at the people, and they went back to their business.

"Thanks," muttered Harry.

"No problem. Anyone with brains could see you were stressed," said Ginny. At this, Hermione and Lily glared at Ginny at the veiled insult.

"Now that I'm done, can we go?" whined Harry.

"She hasn't even checked you yet!" exclaimed Lily.

"Exactly," said Harry as he got up to leave.

"Potter! Get back in bed _now_!" shouted Madam Pomfrey. Harry gave a startled noise and sat back down on the bed, ignoring James and Sirius's smirks.

* * *

In a city, far away from Hogwarts, a woman swirled her wine around on her glass as she read the letter. A wicked smiled was on her ruby red lips. 

_Dear Madam,_

_Bad complications have come up with your sister. You were right about her being ill suited for the job. It would be my honor if you would take the job instead, as you would do a much better job. Please send your reply as soon as possible. _

_Cornelius Fudge_

_Minister of Magic. _

She laughed as she wrote her acceptance letter. Her master would be pleased. Fudge was a fool. He would be one of the first to go after her master got rid of the more threatening people. But right now he still had some uses.

She knew her sister would slip somewhere along the way.

She closed her eyes happily.

_Almost there._

_Soon.

* * *

_

A/N: That was a very hard chapter to write. I had until recently forgotten about the match, and then I realized it could be used for my advantage. Anyways, I'm sorry about the shortness of this, but it's late and I'm about to fall asleep at the computer. Can anyone guess who the person's sister is at the end of the chapter? I know you won't be able to guess the identity of the woman, as she is a made up character, but her sister is in the canon. Also, I beg of you, TELL ME ABOUT PREGNANCIES! I know next to nothing about them!


	22. Chapter 22

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 22

* * *

**

Harry was pleased the next day to hear that Umbridge was going to trial. She was being tried by almost all of the Wizengamot in Courtroom ten. Harry was required to go to the trial, as he was the one that she really was aiming at to harm. McGonagall was also supposed to come, as was many of his classmates.

Harry and the others were wondering whom the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be. They didn't delude themselves into thinking that Dolores Umbridge could ever teach again. Harry was especially glad.

The day after the quidditch match Harry, Ron and Hermione went through the snow to Hagrid's cabin. It turned out that while they had been partying in the common room, Hagrid had somehow snuck into the school. He was now going to take over the care of magical creatures class with Remus assisting him.

Harry wasted no time and started pounding on his door. "Hagrid! It's us!" he called through the door. There was no answer. Harry exchanged mystified looks with Ron and Hermione. Harry knocked again, and then went around back to see if he was there. He wasn't.

"Where is he?" asked Ron.

"Either he's somewhere in the school, or else he's in the forest," answered Harry. At that moment Hagrid came through the trees. Hermione screamed at the sight of him. He was a total mess. There was dried blood, and even some fresh blood all over him. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, and Harry noticed that he had a black eye. Judging by the way that he was moving, Hagrid might have a few broken bones too.

"It's nuthin'!" Hagrid muttered. "Shoulda' known that yeh woulda' visited me righ' away…" he said as shepherded them into the hut. As soon as they were safely inside the hut, Harry spoke up.

"So, how were the giants, Hagrid?" he asked quietly. Hagrid, who had been about to prepare a cup of tea, jumped.

"How did yeh know that?" he asked.

"Easy. One, how else would you have gotten like this? Two, Dumbledore mentioned that someone needed to go to the giants, and who else better than a half giant?" Harry began. He listed off several more reasons how he knew that Hagrid had gone to the giants. Hagrid groaned.

"I guess there's no foolin' yeh. Yeah, I went to the giants," Hagrid admitted.

"You went with Madam Maxime?" Harry half asked, half stated. Hagrid nodded glumly. Harry thought about it for a moment. He had a suspicion…

"So how did it go?" asked Ron. Hagrid began to explain what had gone on, while Harry began to process what he said. In the end, he was almost sure of his thought.

"So, to summarize it, you went to the giants, they had a fight and then the new leader didn't like you, and you didn't convince any to your side? But then why did it take you so long to come back?" asked Hermione. Harry sat back and gazed at Hagrid. If he had left the giants many months ago, his wounds should have healed already.

"Well, yeah," said Hagrid.

"Was it a brother or a sister? Or maybe a friend?" asked Harry suddenly, leaning forward and staring at Hagrid hard. Hagrid jumped.

"What are yeh talkin' bout, Harry?" Hagrid asked, not quite meeting his eyes.

"You brought a giant back with you. You're hiding it in the forest, and he has to be some sort of relation with you, right?" Harry asked. "Assuming that it is a he, right?" Hagrid stared at him with astonishment. Hermione stared at him too, then turned her eyes to Hagrid.

"Hagrid, is this true?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah. He's my brother. I couldn't leave him there! He woulda died there!" wailed Hagrid.

"Let me guess, your brother is a runt?" asked Harry bluntly. Hagrid nodded tearfully.

"Harry, how did you figure this stuff out?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, anyone with common sense could figure it out," said Harry without thinking about what he said. Hermione immediately bristled.

"Oh, so I don't have any common sense?" she snapped. Harry, who was thinking about giants and only paid the question half a mind, nodded. It took the sudden ringing silence in the hut to realize what he just did.

"OH! I didn't mean that, Hermione, I just didn't think about what I was saying," Harry quickly said, trying to stop her from crying, which was what she was about to do.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not as smart as you anymore!" she wailed. And it was true. Harry had been beating Hermione in every class except for potions. It was really a hit to Hermione's self confidence when the boy that she had been helping through school with just barely pass grades suddenly passed her in academic achievement.

"That isn't what I meant and you know it!" said Harry irritably. Hagrid looked lost.

"Wha? I thought that 'Mione was the best in the year," said Hagrid cluelessly.

"Harry's been the best, ever since his parents came back!" shrieked Hermione. Hagrid gave a noise of understanding and backed up from the rapidly escalating fight. Ron looked just as lost as Hagrid did, as it was he who usually fought with Hermione.

"Don't bring my parents in this! Just because I've decided to work harder, doesn't mean that you can bite my head off about it!" snarled Harry. Hermione looked hurt for one moment, before she gained an angry look in her eye.

"Oh really? Well, I don't think that it's fair! You have your parents and parent's friends teaching most of the classes, and they're bound to give you good marks!" she shouted. Harry suddenly found his temper boiling. She was accusing his parents of giving him marks just because he was their son!

"Are you saying that just because I have my parents teaching at this school that it means that I'm going to get the best marks of the year? Are you mad?! Of course not! They work me the hardest!" Harry yelled at her.

"Well what else would explain your sudden improvement in grades!?" she cried.

"Well MAYBE it's because I'm working harder!" Harry yelled.

"You can't work to save your life!" shouted Hermione. She looked slightly hysterical. And then, with that statement, Harry's temper reached the boiling point.

"OH YEAH? WELL, I GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT! I MEAN, I'VE NEVER WORKED A DAY FOR THE DURSLEYS, WITH NO FOOD FOR HOURS UNTIL I'VE COMPLETED A LIST OF CHORES THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETE! OF COURSE NOT! AND I HAVEN'T WORKED A THING FOR THE D.A., BECAUSE THAT'S UNDERNEATH ME, ISN'T IT? NO, I'M HARRY POTTER, THE BOY-WHO-LIVED, I'VE PARTIED ALL MY STUPID LIFE! THANK YOU, HERMIONE, FOR POINTING THAT OUT TO US!" Harry yelled. The whole hut was silent as Harry strode angrily out of the door.

Harry walked angrily out on the grounds, and on a sudden impulse, turned and walked into the forest.

* * *

Lily was confused when a dumbfounded Ron and a crying Hermione ran into the Marauder's Quarters. James, who had been lounging on the couch with Sirius and Remus while Lily watched the cameras, jumped up along with her. 

"What happened? Where's Harry? Is he okay? Are you hurt?" asked Lily as Hermione threw herself into her arms. She could barely make out a word Hermione was saying, as the fabric of Lily's robes muffled it. Lily looked at Ron.

"Well, we went to Hagrid's hut this morning because we saw that Hagrid was back. We made Hagrid explain where he had been, and Harry was brilliant! He easily saw through anything Hagrid said. Harry made a comment that anyone with common sense could tell what Hagrid was doing, and Hermione got really mad. Then, well, Hermione kind of…" trailed off Ron. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Hermione what?" Lily asked coolly. She had a feeling where this was going…

"Well, Harry apologized, but the damage was done. They got in a huge argument. Hermione… she said some pretty nasty things… but of course, Hermione's been real stressed lately, with O.W.L.s, and all…"

"Ron, get to the point," Lily commanded.

"Well, Hermione said that Harry hadn't really worked a day in his life, and that Harry was only getting the grades that he was because his parents were teachers. And Harry… well, he just blew up! He started shouting on about stuff, and it was really confusing! And then Harry left, and when we went outside to see where he was going we saw him disappear into the forest," said Ron.

"Oh, damn,"

* * *

At that exact moment Harry was saying the exact same thing, except even more vulgar. 

"Where the hell am I?" he muttered as he looked around. He had gone very deep into the forest and there was barely any light around. Every tree looked the same. Ice was hissing irritably from his neck.

_/You stupid boy! You don't just walk into a forest full of dangerous creatures!/_

_/Call it a training mission/_

Ice began to splutter indignantly, as much as a snake could splutter anyways, and Harry calmly ignored him. Harry soon walked into a clearing, an arrow whizzed pass his face. Harry scowled. _Just what he needed…_

"Who are you, human?" asked a centaur. Harry strained his memory about centaurs, but came up blank. The best thing to do was stay calm.

"Harry Potter, from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," answered Harry. He was pleased to note that his voice was steady and calm. The fifty or so centaurs around him exchanged glances.

"What are you doing in our forest, Harry Potter?" asked the same centaur. Harry gave a small bow, hoping that he could get out of this alive.

"Please forgive me, but I'm horribly lost. I suppose I was stupid in coming here," said Harry.

"You do realize that we could kill you now?" said the centaur.

"Yes, I do, but I really hope that you don't. After all, if you do, most the people at the school won't be pleased," said Harry. The centaurs stamped their hooves around him.

"Are you threatening us?"

"No," said Harry, deciding it would be best not to say any more. The centaurs still looked at him suspiciously.

"I say we kill him! We can't let a human off!" said a centaur that Harry recognized at Bane.

"But he's a foal. We can't kill a foal," said one.

"Ah, yes, but he is nearly at manhood!" said Bane.

"I would just go, speak of this to no one, if you could point my way back to school," suggested Harry.

"He lies!" said Bane. "Now that Hagrid has put that beast in the forest, we can't trust any human!"

"You mean the giant that Hagrid put in here? I tried to convince him to take it back, but he wouldn't budge. It's his brother, you see, and he's become rather attached to him. I knew it would cause problems," Harry said, more to himself than the centaurs. The centaurs looked at each other uneasily.

"All right Harry Potter, we will let you pass this one time," said a centaur, obviously agreeing with Harry's point of view.

"Thank you. I am eternally grateful. May the stars shine bright," said Harry, remembering a phrase he heard in a book. Many of the centaurs looked impressed.

"Thank you, Harry Potter," said the centaur. Harry gave another small bow, and walked in the opposite direction of the centaurs. He kept calmly walking, even though on the inside he was panicking. He still had no idea where the school was.

And then Harry heard a crash behind him. He turned around, only to let out a pained scream.

* * *

Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and Hagrid were all on the outskirts of the forest. They were going to find Harry in there, no matter how difficult. They had decided to split into groups of twos. Lily was with Sirius, James was with Remus, Hermione was with Hagrid, and Ron was with Dumbledore. 

Lily took a deep breath, and turned to the others. "We might as well go in there now, right?" she said, and without further ado walked straight into the forest, leaving Sirius to catch up.

Lily walked with a brisk pace, ignoring Sirius struggling behind her. She finally tired of the noise he was making and whirled around to face him. "If it's so difficult for you, why don't you turn into your dog form!" she shrieked. Sirius cowered under her rage and quickly turned into a dog. Lily nodded and proceeded with Sirius right at her heels.

And then she heard a crash behind her, and she turned around only to let out a pained scream and Sirius a howl.

* * *

James and Remus walked carelessly through the woods. They had been in here enough times to know what would and would not hurt them, and what the best paths were to take. They had found out in their sixth year that there was an acromantula nesting somewhere in here, and there was also more dangerous nests too. 

They knew what to avoid. So it was just their luck to run into centaurs.

"Er… hello," said James awkwardly. The centaurs simply stared at them.

"I would hurry, James Potter, for there is something in this forest that shouldn't be here," said the centaur in the front. James stared.

"What?"

"You heard me. They already have your son, wife, and friend. Hurry," and with that the centaurs were gone as quickly as they had come. James gaped at the now empty spot before registering the words.

"WHAT?!"

And then James heard a crash behind him, and he turned around only to let out a pained scream, along with Remus's gasp of pain.

* * *

Hermione and Hagrid were walking along. Hermione had unconsciously drawn closer to Hagrid when she thought that she had heard a scream. She knew that she was probably imagining it, though. 

"Hagrid, do you know where they could be?" asked Hermione anxiously. Hagrid shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Could be anywhere," answered Hagrid. Hermione shivered.

"I do hope that we find them soon," she muttered, looking up at the sky. Hagrid nodded. He seemed oddly concentrated on something. It was almost like he was listening to something. And then his eyes flew open wide.

"LOOK OUT!" he bellowed as a crash came from behind them. Hagrid grabbed her around her waist before she even knew what happened. She stared up in terror at the creature before them.

"Hagrid… please tell me that I'm not seeing this,"

* * *

Ron walked behind Dumbledore as they prowled through the woods. Ron couldn't help but admire the way Dumbledore moved. For an old man, he sure could move soundlessly. 

"Where are we, Professor?" asked Ron.

"In the forest, Mr. Weasley," answered Professor Dumbledore. Ron resisted the urge to scowl.

"I knew that, but where in the forest?"

"Somewhere nearing halfway to the middle," said Dumbledore. The trees had grown thicker, and seemed to be increasing. Ron was getting stuck in many thickets and bushes, and they both had to pause to get him untangled.

And then, Dumbledore spun around quickly and aimed his wand behind him. There was a crash, and Dumbledore has shot off the spell before the creature could get too near them. Ron looked in awe down at the beast.

"I doubt that that's the only one," said Dumbledore. "They may have developed a whole herd here. _What _they are doing here, I have no clue. They do not prefer these climates," said Dumbledore. Ron bent down to get a closer look at it. "Careful, Mr. Weasleys. His horns are very sharp,"

"But… what if there are others? Have they gotten to the others?" asked Ron. Dumbledore suddenly stiffened again. There were red sparks in the air. They both hurried to where the red sparks were. Before long, they had come out to a moderately large clearing where they met Hagrid and Hermione. They both looked shaken. It was obvious that they had run a long way.

"What's happened?" asked Dumbledore urgently. Hermione shivered.

"I… that… it attacked us. Hagrid was able to pull me out of the way in time, but neither of us was expecting it. What is it doing here? Is there a herd?" asked Hermione.

"We aren't sure. What happened after it attacked you?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, we both ran for it. None of my spells would work against it, and neither would brute strength," muttered Hermione. Hagrid nodded in agreement.

"It might have gotten to the others," observed Dumbledore. Hermione paled.

"Earlier… I thought that I had heard a scream…" she muttered unhappily. Dumbledore sighed.

"This isn't good,"

"Won't they just kill them right away? I mean, from what I've gathered, they are really aggressive!" said Hermione. Her voice was slightly hysterical.

"I cannot promise anything, Ms. Granger. I can say that we will do our best to find them," said Dumbledore. "But I have a feeling that they are only captured, not dead. Wounded, yes, dead, no,"

"Oh no," moaned Hermione. "This is a nightmare,"

* * *

She tapped her foot impatiently, but when she realized what she was doing, quickly stopped. The minister showed up at that point. 

"Ah, good, you're here," he said. He smiled a smile at her, and she forced one back. Oh, the fools that she had to be with…

"I suppose that I should explain your new position," said the minister. She smiled happily.

"Of course! I can't wait to start, anything for you!" she said sweetly. The minister looked proudly at her.

"That's the spirit, my dear," he said. She smiled at him again. Inside she was puking.

"So, what are my duties?" she asked. The minister spent the next twenty minutes telling her what to do. She nodded, and agreed with him, while she was grimacing on the inside. Before long, she had thankfully left the man's presence.

She wasted no time in going home. She walked into her beautiful apartment. It couldn't really be called an apartment. The only reason that it was called that was because she had to walk up a long hallway to get here. After the hallway, which was lined with doors, she went into her own. The doors were slightly spaced about, enough to give everyone adequate enough space. Of course, the inside was better than the outside. It was a home only someone rich could afford. She went to the kitchen and began to prepare some wine.

She swirled it around in her glass, watching the ripples go through the drink. She lifted it to her lips as she gazed out of her window at the city. She was on one of the topmost floors, and she easily stood above most of the buildings. Her window was huge, and spanned the entire wall, top to bottom. She loved it.

She smirked. Her new job would be anything but glamorous, but she had proven herself wonderfully to her master. She was able to convince a herd to go into the Forbidden Forest by herself! Well, she was able to control the herd and manipulate them into going. Who knew that those things were so easy to convince? Especially since they usually lived in the mountains.

The doorbell rang, and she walked to the door. She opened it and found one of her neighbors standing there.

"Hello, may I come in for a moment?" her neighbor asked. She nodded and the man gracefully stepped into the room.

"What do you need?" she asked, smiling a fake smile. When the door was securely shut, the neighbor turned to her harshly.

"I know what you're up to! I've seen you with them white masks! I know, girl, I know, and I'm going to tell on you," he said harshly. She gave another false smile.

"Who do you think they're going to believe? Me, who has the minister in her pocket, or you?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"Me, of course!" yelled the man.

"Oh, but they won't be able to hear from you!" she said, faking unhappiness.

"Why is that?" asked the man coolly.

She ended his life with a flash of green light and a laugh. She quickly muttered a spell that made him stand up, and when she was sure a neighbor was looking, she waved him goodbye as she hid her wand behind her back, controlling his movements.

She smiled evilly. No one would know until tomorrow, possibly even a few days. That was more than enough time to construct a cover story of what they were talking about. She gave a chilling laugh and went to her glass of wine. She frowned when she saw that it had shattered when she had dropped it to pull out her wand.

She rummaged around in her cabinets, trying to find another glass, when she realized that she could just repair that one. She did so, and filled it up with more wine.

She smirked and looked out upon the city again. She felt a small tweak in the back of her mind, and her smirk broadened when she realized that the herd had caught a few people. Good. Her master would be pleased.

She wondered who it was. It would be great if it were a mudblood. Even better if it was Lily or James Potter. She would be rewarded handsomely if it were. She prayed to God that it wouldn't be Harry Potter, because her master had already declared that he would be the only one to kill him.

She would find out though, soon, because she had the herd take them prisoner instead of killing them. She wanted to know who they were and who she had the pleasure of laughing at. She smiled down on the city.

_Soon. _

_Soon._

_Soon. _

_Soon. _

_Just a couple more days. _

_After all, she wasn't known as Donna Umbridge for nothing.

* * *

_

A/N: How's that for a cliffy? Can anyone guess what the monsters are? You have to have 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', as I don't think that they are mentioned in the book. And thank you to everyone who responded to my question about pregnancies. I know enough now to be getting on. Thank you! Also, congratulations to Karma-k2, Blossom1098, Greekchic, Harry Foureyes, and GrannyHPfan for correctly guessing that she was Umbridge's sister! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me (this chapter might be a bit confusing). I answer questions on my website, so you can check that out. Thank you! Remember to review!


	23. Chapter 23

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 23

* * *

**

Harry cursed his luck for the thousandth time and stared at the creature that had captured him. It was large and purplish gray. He remembered the passage from 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. Harry sighed.

He had been struck right in the stomach with a long, sharp horn. Right now the wound was bleeding freely, and was very painful. Not that he noticed. He was too concentrated on the monstrosity that he was currently riding on. Somehow the thing had tied him up and now he was riding on it's back.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew that this should be impossible. He had taken a good look at their eyes, and realized that they were being controlled. How they had been able to control a creature like this he didn't know.

Harry was deposited in a very large clearing. He looked around, quickly assessing the situation. He couldn't tell where he was located in the forest. That was bad. Then again, he couldn't tell before, so that wasn't a very big problem. Harry glanced up at the creatures that were now lining the clearing.

He looked for weakness in their ranks, but found none. Their eyes were misted over and glazed, and it was obvious that they were being controlled. How someone would be able to control them was something that Harry couldn't answer. Just then Harry heard shouting.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU STUPID BEAST! I AM IN NO MOOD FOR THIS!" screamed a familiar voice. Harry cursed under his breath. Of all the people, his mother had to be with him right now, in a bad mood no less.

Another beast stumbled into the clearing, and dropped both Lily and Sirius on the ground. Harry sighed in relief when he saw that their wounds weren't half as bad as his. They were painful but not as life threatening. Lily chose that moment to spot him.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WHEN WE GET OUT OF THE MESS!" she screamed. Harry winced and Sirius, who was still in his dog form, whimpered. A couple more of the creatures entered the clearing, and James and Remus were deposited.

"Did you all get captured?" Harry asked incredulously.

"You're one to talk," muttered James darkly. "What the hell were you thinking, just taking off into the forest like that?"

"You did it all the time when you were in school!" protested Harry.

"There's a difference," snapped James, but he didn't say anything more on the matter. Neither did Harry. They sat for a moment. The creatures seemed to be waiting for something. Harry thought of plans, but none of the escapes would work. He knew that most of them were ridiculous, and wouldn't be able to do anything other than annoy the creatures.

Harry stared up at the creature next to him. Harry cursed his luck again. Of all the things that they were captured by, they had to get captured by a creature whose skin was even more spell resistant and tougher than a dragon's.

_Bloody Graphorns…_

* * *

Hermione let out a shriek as the Graphorn attempted to take her again. Dumbledore, Ron, Hagrid, and her were searching for the others when more showed up. Dumbledore, no matter how powerful, could not take down many Graphorns at once without help. So they were pretty much reduced to throwing useless spells and running around. 

The thing grunted and charged at her again. She let loose another scream and ran behind a tree, which was promptly demolished. Hermione tried running again, but then the Graphorn charged her. This time, the Graphorn was quicker. Hermione screamed in agony as the horns pierced her flesh. She could vaguely hear Ron yelling out for her, but before she knew it everything became a blur as the Graphorn proceeded to take her wherever it wanted to go.

Hermione tried taking deep breathes, but soon found that wasn't a good idea. The horns had struck her stomach, and almost went right through to the back. It hurt, and Hermione knew that if she didn't receive medical attention soon she would die.

* * *

Lily screamed as she saw another Graphorn enter the clearing with Hermione. She was soaked with blood, and her breathing was heavy. Her eyes were still open, but they were misted over with the pain of it. Lily could hear Harry take in a sharp intake of breath, and try to start forward, only to have the ropes binding him stop him. 

The Graphorn threw Hermione on the ground, not caring for her health. Lily began to try to get over to her, but was quickly stopped. Lily watched, horrified, as Hermione bled quickly. Lily knew that at this rate Hermione wouldn't live.

* * *

Ron ran after Hermione, but was unable to keep up with the Graphorn's rapid pace through the trees. He was soon out of breath and panting heavily. Ron looked around desperately, but found nothing but trees. Ron groaned when he realized that he was still split up from the others, and that he had no clue where he was. 

Ron slowly walked forward, wary of any creature. He jumped about a foot in the air when a mouse crossed his path. He narrowed his eyes at it. The thing barely sent him a second glance.

Ron shrugged and walked on. The path was narrowing, and he could tell he was getting deeper into the forest. Ron gulped and kept walking.

* * *

Harry was breathing harshly. There was no way he was letting Hermione die. And then, slowly, a plan formed in his mind. But before he could do anything, a cold voice sounded. 

"Ah, the Potters," said a woman's cool, cold voice. Harry turned his head to look upon the advancing Death Eater.

It was the Death Eater he had fought at Hogsmeade.

Harry drew himself up indignantly. There was no way he would lose to her this time. He glanced over at his companions. Hermione had long since passed out, along with Lily who could not take the strain. The Graphorns had knocked out Sirius, after much struggle. Remus had also been knocked out from one of the Graphorns accidentally kicking him in the head. James had also been knocked out. No one was awake other than him. He narrowed his eyes at the Death Eater who was now three feet away.

"What do you want?" he asked. His voice was very well maintained, and he felt proud at how well controlled it was. The woman, however, did not even seem to take note of it.

"What do I want? I want you and you're family to die. I want you to watch as your friends are murdered in front of your eyes. The Mudblood is going first, I see," said the woman.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, ignoring her comment. Inside, he was panicking slightly.

"What kind of Death Eater would I be if I were to tell you who I was?" she asked. Her tone never altered from that cool, smooth voice.

"A stupid one," Harry muttered. "But then, being stupid is something old Voldie requires, isn't it?" The woman's eyes flashed, and Harry felt a bit of triumph at being able to provoke her.

"You dare speak so disrespectfully of my master?" she hissed.

"Did you not hear me correctly?" Harry asked, feigning politeness. His eyes were searching the area, wondering which Graphorn was the best…

"Of course I heard you! My master is better than-,"

"I already know what you're going to say. 'My master is the best person in the world because all he does is torture and punish people' He also happens to fool all his followers into thinking that he is Pureblood, which, I assure you, he is not," said Harry in a bored voice.

"How dare you even think-,"

"I don't think, I know," said Harry in that same bored tone. His eyes never stopped scanning. And then he found the one. Harry smirked.

"Are we done here? I'm getting bored of talking to you," said Harry. The woman opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud hissing noise coming from Harry's mouth.

_/NOW, ICE!/ _he shouted in parseltongue. Before the lady could do anything, Ice suddenly reared out of his robe. Ice lunged at a very large Graphorn. He bit him on the foot, and after a moment his fangs slowly sunk into the skin. The Graphorn roared, and before Harry could do anything, the spell over the Graphorn's was broken. At the same time, Harry quickly was able to snap the robes binding him and free himself.

All the Graphorn's began to roar in rage at being controlled. The bite Ice had given the Graphorn had jolted that Graphorn to it's senses. Since that particular Graphorn had been the leader of the herd, the spell was effectively placed around him most of all and was connected with the others. When Ice broke the spell, the entire spell collapsed.

All the Graphorns went for the woman first. She screamed and turned. She seemed to disappear. Harry knew this wasn't true, as no one could apparate on Hogwart's grounds. Harry knew that they would turn on him after they were sure that the Death Eater was gone, so he wasted no time in running to the others. And then, Dumbledore and Hagrid burst through the trees. Harry had never felt so glad to see them.

"HELP ME!" he shouted over the roaring of the Graphorns. Hagrid grabbed Hermione in his arms bridal style while Dumbledore waved his wand over the others. They floated up off the ground.

Dumbledore gestured to him and Harry ran after them. They made their way through the forest, and soon the trees began to thin and the Graphorn's yells were in the distance. Now that the immediate problem was taken care of, Harry had a new problem.

_Hermione.

* * *

_

Harry sat on a bed in the hospital wing miserably. Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius were all lying in other beds too. They hadn't woken up yet. Harry could hear Madam Pomfrey bustling around hurriedly around another bed. Hermione's bed. They weren't sure if she was going to make it. She had lost so much blood in so little time. Then there was the fact of the organs that the horn punctured.

And Hermione wasn't the only thing worrying Harry. Now they had to deal with the Graphorns in the forest, as they couldn't stay there. And the fact that everyone was probably furious with him for going into the forest. He had done it on an impulse, and thought it would be nice just to take a little walk through it. He had actually been hoping on something coming across his path to take his anger out on. Well, now he wasn't angry. Now he was worried. And there was one other thing…

Ron hadn't come back.

_

* * *

"Quickly, quickly, get me those blood replenishing potions…"_ was the first thing Lily heard as she slowly drifted into consciousness. She slowly sat up and rubbed her head. There was a bump there from when she hit the forest floor. She looked around to discover that she was in the hospital wing. How had she gotten there? Wasn't she in the forest? What had happened? 

She swung her legs around the bed and tried to get up, but was quickly overcome with dizziness. She heard a chuckle from the bed next to her.

"I wouldn't get up if I were you," said Harry. His voice was emotionless, and it scared Lily slightly.

"What do you mean?" snapped Lily, her anger quickly returning.

"I mean, you're going to be overcome with dizzy spells for a while. Then there's the fact that you wouldn't want to bother Pomfrey right now. She's not in the best of moods," he said.

"Why isn't she in a good mood?" asked Lily.

"One, I went into the forest. The forest, apparently, is too dangerous for students and no one should even look at it, let alone venture into it, in her opinion. Two, she's been stressed with the lack of potions around, which we currently need quite badly. Three, she's rushed because of Hermione," Harry listed, ticking each of off a finger.

"How is Hermione?" asked Lily.

"I dunno. They won't even let me move," said Harry. Lily stared at Harry. His eyes were completely dulled, like he was thinking about something horrible. Lily didn't doubt that he was.

"Where are the others?" asked Lily. That question was quickly answered when she saw the beds around her occupied. "Hold on… where's Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Ron?" she asked. Harry's eyes, if possible, dulled more.

"Dumbledore and Hagrid are safe. They helped me get all of you back to the castle. Ron never left the forest. He's still in there, and we don't know where," said Harry. Lily gasped.

"What happened to the Graphorns?" Lily asked.

"There will be time for that later, Lily," said Dumbledore as he emerged from behind the screen that hid Hermione. "Right now, I need to check if you are all right, as Madam Pomfrey is tied up at the moment,"

Lily nodded and let Dumbledore perform a few spells over her. "Everything looks to be in order, you'll just be dizzy every once in a while, like when you get up too fast and stuff like that," he said. Lily sighed happily and nodded. She looked down at her body to see all of her wounds from the Graphorns healed. She looked over to the others and saw theirs were as well.

She glanced back at Harry, but frowned when she saw bandages around him. "Weren't you healed?" she asked.

"I was. But I got it worse then you, and mine will have to heal for a while," he said. He was avoiding looking at her. It was started to disturb her greatly.

"Harry, please, I know that everything has you stressed, but don't block your emotions like this," pleaded Lily. Harry finally turned to look at her, and Lily winced at how emotionless his eyes were.

"If she dies, my last words to her would have been shouting about how she was wrong," Harry said. Lily winced again. She had forgotten that they had fought before they had gone into the forest. A moan next to her alerted her that Sirius was awake.

"Wha happened?" he muttered as he rubbed his head. Lily sighed and began to tell him what she knew so far as Harry's eyes strayed to the window.

* * *

_She felt like she was floating in black. It was like nothing could touch her… she liked the feeling. Here, no one could touch her, no one could hurt her…_

_Wait, why did she have the feeling that she had to be somewhere? There was someplace important that she had to be…_

"_**OH YEAH? WELL, I GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT! I MEAN, I'VE NEVER WORKED A DAY…"** why did she have the feeling that whoever shouted this was important?_

"_**HERMIONE!"** hold on, that was a panicked cry! Someone needed her, someone needed her… if only she could remember why… remember who was the one who shouted this. It was two different voices, both males…who was she, anyways? Her name was Hermione, right? She couldn't remember…_

_She felt the blackness stirring around her. She retreated farther into it, feeling threatened. She liked her little darkness, thank you very much. A vague memory stirred around her…_

**"**_**Hermione!" shouted a tall red head. There was some sort of creature around her, some sort of beast… Hermione turned her head and gasped in surprise. Why did that bushy haired girl look familiar… than it hit her. That was her. She was viewing her own memories.** _

_**She watched herself get impaled by one of the creatures. She winced. That must have hurt…**_

_Hermione felt her fascination as scenes seemed to play around her. She knew that these must be her memories…_

_"**OH YEAH WELL, I GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT! I MEAN, I'VE NEVER WORKED A DAY FOR THE DURSLEYS, WITH NO FOOD FOR HOURS UNTIL I'VE COMPLETED A LIST OF CHORES THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETE! OF COURSE NOT! AND I HAVEN'T WORKED A THING FOR THE D.A., BECAUSE THAT'S UNDERNEATH ME, ISN'T IT? NO, I'M HARRY POTTER, THE BOY-WHO-LIVED, I'VE PARTIED ALL MY STUPID LIFE! THANK YOU, HERMIONE, FOR POINTING THAT OUT TO US!"**_

_Hermione looked on in disapproval as a black haired boy strode out of a cabin. Really, he didn't need to shout like that…_

_Her eyes widened at the next scene…that wasn't her memory…_

_**/Come on Ice, we need to get to the Chamber. And you call me lazy/ **_

_**/Shut up, you stupid boy/**_

_It was that same black haired boy, except this time he had a snake with him. And he seemed to be speaking another language. Hermione frowned and turned her back on that scene. There was no reason to be viewing someone else's memories. Hermione let herself fade more into the darkness. Her life didn't look fun or happy. It was much better here…

* * *

_

Harry looked up hopefully as Madam Pomfrey finally came out from behind the curtains. She shook her head.

"There isn't anything more I can do for her. It's all up to her now," she said. Harry sighed.

"Can I go be with her?" Harry asked. Madam Pomfrey stared at him hard, but nodded. Harry got up and went behind the screen. Harry winced when he saw Hermione. Her hair was much messier and bushier than normal. Her face was deathly pale, and her breaths were harsh. Harry grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it to her side. He took her hand in his and bowed his head.

"Hermione, please come back. We aren't sure where Ron is, and we might never see him again. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you too, all because I was stupid enough to go into the forest," he said. He stared at her face. There was no recognition, not even a small twitch.

* * *

_Hermione heard a boy's voice again. Really, she liked it here, so why didn't they give up already? It was much better here…_

_"**Hermione, please come back. We aren't sure where Ron is, and we might never see him again. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you again, all because I was stupid enough to go into the forest,"**_

_Hermione felt her frown. Really, if he were the reason that she was hurt, then she would rather not go back. But who was Ron? It was all so confusing…_

_Hermione felt a sudden pain in her chest. It hurt so much… what had happened to her nice darkness? What had that boy done to it?! She liked it the way it was! _

_That settled it. If this boy was going to ruin her darkness like this, she didn't want to go back.

* * *

_

Harry looked on in horror as Hermione's breaths slowly got harsher. And then… they stopped.

* * *

Ice look at his stupid master. He was looking at the girl with an expression of pain. The healer poked her head around the curtain, and gasped. Really, what was with humans? 

_/Stupid boy/ _muttered Ice. His master didn't even react! That wasn't good. Ice slithered onto the girl, even though the healer protested. His master just stared at him. Ice looked at the girl's pale face. She was still alive, but only just. They couldn't save her. That didn't mean that he couldn't. He slowly bit into a pressure point on her body. After a few moments of filling her with a bit of his healing saliva, the girl drew a harsh breath and began to breath again. His master stared at him, shock on his face.

_/Stupid boy/ _he hissed again. He slid off the girl while the healer was getting more potions and other supplies. The girl would live now.

* * *

Harry felt like hugging Ice. Or doing something to show his appreciation. Ice had just saved one of his best friends. Already Hermione's breaths were evening out and getting better. Her face regained some of its color. Madam Pomfrey was having a fit, bustling around and getting more potions. 

Harry sighed in relief. Hermione would be okay now. Now their primary concern was getting Ron back. Harry left Hermione's side at Madam Pomfrey's glares, and sat next to his family. They all looked very relieved.

But then they focused their attention on him, and he now knew that he would be giving many explanations this night.

* * *

Ron backed up in fear of the creatures before him. He didn't know how, but the Graphorns had found him. And they didn't look as merciful as when he first saw them.

* * *

Harry sighed at their stares and glanced around to make sure no one was near. When he was sure anyone that could eavesdrop was out of hearing range, he turned back to them. "What do you want to know?" he asked. 

"First, why did you go into the forest?" demanded Lily. Her face had gone slightly red with anger. Harry coughed nervously.

"Well, I suppose Ron and Hermione told you our conversation?" asked Harry. They nodded. "After I got mad at Hermione, I went out of the cabin. I needed something to vent my anger on, and the forest was right there. What better to get rid of your anger then going into a forest full of dangerous creatures that you can fight?"

"So you knew the Graphorns would be there?" asked Remus with a raised eyebrow.

"No. I didn't expect them there, nor did I think that they would be there. I didn't think that something that dangerous would attack me. I thought that I was relatively safe. I see now that that was a mistake,"

"Okay, next question. Why did you blow up at Hermione?" asked James. "I just don't understand,"

"Oh, James," Lily began, "please don't be dense. Of course he's going to be angry with her. First, she accused him of being too smart. Then she said it was only because of us cheating that he was getting good grades. She also admitted to thinking that Harry didn't work much, or at least implied that. Of course Harry's going to be angry!"

"Exactly," said Harry.

"What I don't understand is how we got out of the Graphorn's grasp," said Sirius. "No one ever told me how we did it," Lily had no answer for this, and turned to Harry along with the others.

"That would be Ice's doing. After you were knocked unconscious, I'm pretty sure, a Death Eater came. She was a woman with a very cold voice. After asking her a few questions I figured out that she was controlling the Graphorns. Also, the Graphorns had a misty, blank look in their eye when they captured us. That alone gave me a very important clue. That, and Graphorn are famous for being aggressive.

"When controlling multiple beings, there has to be a center. The spell is sort of like a spider web. It has to start somewhere, and then it connects to the other objects of the spell. Break the center, break the spell. You can release one from a spell, but leave the others intact. That is why I had to stall the Death Eater in order to find the center.

"The center turned out to be the leader of the herd. I had Ice, who the Death Eater didn't know about, bite the Graphorn leader on its foot. When the Graphorn was bitten, the pain from Ice's venom and the bite was so intense that it broke the manipulation spell on it, effectively breaking all the Graphorn's out of it.

"The Graphorns immediately charged the spell caster, as she was the one who was controlling them. Let me tell you, Graphorns hate to be controlled. In all of the chaos, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid arrived on the scene. They both helped me get you guys up to the castle. Hagrid carried Hermione, as she was in bad condition," said Harry. James and Sirius both blinked stupidly, while Lily and Remus nodded in understanding.

"Can you repeat that, just a bit slower?" asked James. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ask mum later," said Harry. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah. How did Ice heal Hermione?" asked Remus curiously.

"I don't know. Let me ask him," said Harry. Harry wasted no time in turning to Ice, who had been lounging on his bed, and asking the question.

_/Don't be stupid. Of course I was able to heal her! You seem to think that just because we snakes have poisons in our blood means that we can't have healing abilities as well! I have healing abilities in my saliva. I had to bite a certain pressure point on her body to get her to react properly to the saliva or else it wouldn't have worked/_

_/So you're saying you can bring people back to life if you press a point on their body and fill them with your saliva?/_ asked Harry.

_/STUPID BOY! Of course I can't do that! I can heal things, yes, but only alive things. The girl was still alive, but only just, when I did that. I would have thought that that was common sense/_

_/…/_ Harry chose not to answer after that, and turned back to Lily and the others to translate what Ice had just said. James looked a little perturbed at his son speaking parseltongue, but decided not to comment at the moment.

"How does he know where the pressure point he needed to press was? Was it instinct or something?" asked Sirius.

_/Instinct?! I feel very insulted. Of course it wasn't instinct! That kind of stuff is just for younger snakes. I am over two thousand years old/_

_/WHAT?!/_

_/How old did you think I was? Five? Stupid boy/_

_/But… you don't look old!/_

_/I noticed, thank you. I'm not very old/_

_/…/_ Harry chose not to comment again and turned back to his parents to translate for them. It was obvious they still didn't understand, but nodded anyways. Harry sighed and picked up Ice, setting him on his lap and stroking his head absently.

"Now for the next thing. Who was the Death Eater?" pondered James.

"I don't know, but I do know one thing. The Death Eater was the one I was dueling in Hogsmeade," said Harry gravely.

"You mean the one that almost captured you?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, that one. She has a really cold voice with violet eyes," said Harry. He kept glancing out the window, wondering if he could possibly sneak out again and see if he could find Ron. Lily seemed to have read his thoughts.

"Harry James Potter, you will stay in this hospital wing and you won't go on a hero mission to save your friend!" she said sternly. Harry gave her an incredulous look.

"You can't be serious!" he shouted. Sirius opened his mouth to comment, but when two glares were directed his way he thought better of it. "I can't just sit here while my friend could be out there dieing!"

"But he might not be! And you don't have to be the person who saves him, Harry! Leave it to someone else!" argued Lily. By the look in her eye, she wasn't about to lose this argument. Then again, Harry had a similar look in his eye, except a little more deadly and scary.

"Someone else? Right, and I should have left saving the stone to someone else too, even though I told McGonagall and she didn't do anything! And I should have left Ginny down in the Chamber, even though I was the only person who knew where the Chamber could be and who could open it! And I should have left Sirius to the dementors, because someone's obviously going to save a person who was thought to be a criminal at the time! And then what about the graveyard? I guess I should have just sat and waited for someone to come and help me, instead of getting out of there!" Harry yelled, trying to keep his voice controlled. It wasn't working.

"That isn't what I meant! I meant that you don't need to save everyone!" said Lily with tears in her eyes.

"If I don't save them then who is?" asked Harry. No one answered. He didn't think that they would. "Listen, I'm going, and if you don't like that then too bad," said Harry as he began to get up from his bed. Harry saw the stunning spell too late.

* * *

Lily stared at her son as he fell back on his bed. She really hadn't meant to do that, she just sort of… reacted. But what should she have done? Her son had just been about to go out into danger that someone else could try to deal with and while he had wounds! What kind of mother would she be if she let him out into the danger like that? 

Lily wasn't stupid. She knew that Harry would be raging mad when he woke up. She also knew that she had probably lost his trust as well. She knew that one of the only reasons why he hadn't deflected that curse was because he was in an environment where he trusted everyone. He hadn't thought that they would attack him.

And, judging by the looks of shock and horror on the other's faces, neither did they as well.

* * *

Hermione woke to shouting voices. Her head was very groggy, and her vision kept spinning. She tried to remember what she had seen… there had been a boy… and another, red headed boy… 

Suddenly her vision cleared and she remembered everything that happened. She sat up fast, completely forgetting about what she had been trying to remember. There wasn't much to remember anyways, just darkness…

Hermione found herself horribly dizzy from when she sat up. She slowly lowered herself back onto the bed, ignoring the shouting for now. But then what they were saying registered in her mind.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR HIS OWN SAFETY?" screamed an angry voice. It was James. Hermione strained her ears so she could hear more.

"He would have gone off if I hadn't stunned him…" came the hesitant voice of Lily. Hermione blinked. Who were they talking about?

"Gone off? GONE OFF?! I wouldn't blame him! He's been through so much tonight! Let's see, there was being captured by Graphorns, having a very close friend die if it wasn't for his snake, and then having another best friend lost in the forbidden forest! Now, you had to stun him!" Hermione heard Sirius yell. Hermione tried to get up to see what was going on. It only succeeded in moving her a quarter of an inch to the right. And getting the attention of Madam Pomfrey.

"Miss Granger!" she yelped in surprise. "You shouldn't try to move," she warned as she began to bustle around. Hermione looked at her warily.

"I will take all of your worst, horrible, and foul potions without complaint if you tell me what is going on," said Hermione. Madam Pomfrey turned to her and stared for a moment, then sighed.

"It started like this…"

* * *

Donna gripped her glass tightly. The wine in it splashed and she got some on her Death Eater robes. At that moment, she could care less. What had her attention right now was what her master was sure to do to her when he found out just who had slid through her grasp and exposed the Graphorns in the forest. Not only that but broke her control over them. 

Her master would be displeased. When Voldemort is displeased, that only meant one thing. That one thing just happened to be torture. Donna had only failed him once so far, and the consequences weren't the best.

Donna suppressed a shudder. Then she began to think about just what had happened that night. Her eyes narrowed.

_Harry Potter._

She hated him. She hated him with a passion. She also hated her sister. Her sister, the ignorant fool, got her kicked out of the family. Her sister is the one of turned everyone against her, even though it was Dolores who should have been punished.

**_-Flashback-_**

_Donna sat outside her parent's study with Dolores. They were giggling about a cute niffler they had found. Donna held it in her arms, making sure it didn't get loose. They knew that they could never keep it, but they could hold it as long as their parents didn't find out. They knew that their parent's hated almost any animal, including magical creatures._

_Dolores giggled and poked the poor niffler in the nose. The niffler gave a loud snort, which made Dolores giggle louder. Their parents weren't home, so they had the house to themselves, other than their brother. Their brother was very understanding, and everyone loved him, which was why they knew he could keep a secret._

_Donna stood up and kept her firm hold on the niffler. "Come on, Del, we need to release this thing before our parents come home," she said as she began to walk towards the forest in the backyard. Dolores pouted as she tried to keep up._

_The two girls couldn't be more different. Dolores was short, while Donna was a medium height, only a small bit tall for her age. Dolores had curly brown hair. Donna had long, straight black hair that went down to her hips. Dolores looked like a frog. Donna most definitely didn't. Donna was older by three years. Dolores was younger._

_Dolores was used to getting her way. Donna couldn't care less who got what, as long as she didn't get left out or given the worst part of things. Dolores could easily control their parents, knowing just how to get them to give her stuff. Donna always seemed to anger their parents._

_"Aw, come on, Donny, please can we just pet him for a little longer?" asked Dolores with a pout. Another difference. Dolores was always in her little dream world, while Donna was buried in reality. Dolores didn't understand that their parents would be home soon. Donna did._

_"First off, don't call me Donny. Next, mum and dad will be home soon. If they see this niffler…" said Donna, trailing off ominously. Dolores didn't get the hint. She just pouted some more._

_Donna carefully released the niffler away from the house, despite Dolores' protests. Donna led a reluctant Dolores back to their house.

* * *

_

_Dolores giggled. She didn't see why Donny didn't let her keep the niffler. It was so cute! Dolores had snuck back to the clearing in the forest where Donna had let the niffler go. She glanced around, and her smile widened when she saw the niffler was still there. She wasted no time in grabbing it. Their parents still weren't home._

_Dolores carried it carefully up to the house. As soon as she got inside, the niffler started struggling hard. Dolores found that she couldn't keep her grip on it. She was only able to manage one loud shriek for her sister before the niffler was set loose in their house.

* * *

_

_"WHAT DID YOU DO?" screamed Donna as she tried to grab the niffler. The niffler wouldn't be caught easily. Their house was full of treasures, and the thing was going wild. Their brother was hovering in the doorway, looking at the mess with astonishment._

_"What is going on here?" came the cool voice of their mother._

_"Mum, Donna let loose a niffler!" shrieked Dolores before Donna could say anything. Their brother glared at Dolores, knowing this wasn't the truth. Donna also stopped chasing the niffler to gape at Dolores._

_"What are you talking about? It was you!" howled Donna. But it was too late. Their house was in ruins, and their mother was already advancing on her. Their father wasn't far behind._

_"How dare you!" she snarled. Donna opened her mouth to protest, but one look from their mother shut her up. "I've had enough of this. You've been bringing in dirty filthy creatures, Donna, and I won't stand for it! Do you know how much damage you have done?"_

_"Hold on, it wasn't Donna! It was Dolores!" yelled their brother. Donna gave him a grateful glance, but his protest had fallen on ears that were already convinced she had done it._

_"That's enough, Donald," said their father as he stepped forward. "We've had enough of her anyways. Donna, you are no longer our child,"_

**_-End Flashback-_ **

Donna's grip once again intensified on her glass. That had been when she was fourteen. She hadn't had anywhere to go. That problem had been fixed quickly. Donald had moved out and insisted that she move in with him. Donna had accepted. Her brother had done more than his fair share of work for her.

Her grip tightened on her glass.

They hadn't had anywhere else to go to but her master. Donald wasn't a well-known Death Eater, and had been very sneaky about avoiding Azkaban when Voldemort first fell. Donna hadn't even been suspected.

And then….

_Harry Potter._

The boy who had made her master fall. The boy who had stopped him from coming back many times. The boy who had gotten her tortured once already, soon to be twice. The boy that… the boy that…

The boy that killed her brother, her Donald.

* * *

A/N: Don't kill me. You should all be happy! This chapter was twenty pages long; it's usually only about thirteen or fourteen! I put lots of action in it! And congratulations to IceFire9, who was the only one who correctly guessed that the animals were Graphorns! Also, both Donna and Donald are mine; they aren't in the cannon. Please review! 


	24. Chapter 24

**Very important A/N: **I just want everyone to know that when they're reading this chapter, I'm going **_by the Harry Potter book and not the movie_**! So if you've only seen the movie, you might be a little confused. For example, in the movie there were five Death Eaters. In the book, in doesn't say specifically, so I would assume that there were more.

* * *

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 24

* * *

**

_Her Donald… _

Donna gripped her glass tightly.

_Harry Potter. _

_**-Flashback-**_

_Donna had been having dinner with her brother when the Dark Mark burned suddenly. It had been burning a little this year, and had been getting clearer than it had in years. Both Donna and Donald knew what this meant. Lord Voldemort would be coming back soon. So it didn't come as a surprise when he summoned them that night. _

_They both ran to their rooms and put on their masks and robes. They didn't say goodbye to each other; neither found a need to. Neither wanted to speak. They apparated to his side and, like the other Death Eaters, greeted him. They got into their customary circle and left a couple of gaps. _

_Donna watched anxiously as he walked past both her and Donald without a comment. He stopped next to them to say something about another Death Eater, but otherwise said nothing. _

_Donna watched as the entire meeting proceeded. She couldn't help but be a little bored with everything that was going on. Donald looked bored too. Then the priori incantatem broke. Voldemort fell. _

_Donna and Donald both were one of the first people to start running after him. And, then Potter threw a stunning spell behind him. It hit Donald._

_And Donald, not expecting it, fell onto a gravestone._

_His head bashed against it. _

_He died the same night from the injury. _

_**-End Flashback-**_

Donna's glass shattered from her gripping it too hard. Her master allowed her two nights to grieve before she had to get over it. She took it and got her affairs in order. She sold the old house they were living in, not able to stay in a place that had so many memories of him. She sold everything that she had of him, except for his pictures.

And then came the part she dreaded, having to tell her family.

_**-Flashback-**_

_Donna walked up the stairs to her house and knocked on the door. The shifted from foot to foot, not knowing what would happen. The door opened. Dolores had opened it. _

"_Hello, Dolores," Donna said formally. Dolores gave a stiff nod. _

"_What are you doing here?" she asked. She sounded very rude when she said it, even though she was trying to sound polite. _

"_I'm here to inform you that Donald was murdered a few days ago," said Donna. She was proud of herself; her voice didn't waver at all. Dolores gave a gasp. _

"_What?" she asked. _

"_You heard me. Now, if you don't mind, I will be leaving…" said Donna as she turned to go. The next thing she knew she was being pulled back into the house. _

"_You have to explain what happened!" exclaimed Dolores. Donna sighed. While her parents had stopped caring for her, she knew that they had kept in contact with Donald. Dolores lead her to the dining room where her parents were having dinner. At once all the chatter stopped when they saw her. _

"_Dolores, what is she doing here?" asked their father. Donna took a deep breath and tried not to blow up at them. _

"_Believe me, I would rather not be here," said Donna. "I just came to inform you that Donald was murdered," She ignored the gasps and sobs coming from her family and walked out the door. She never once looked back. _

_**-End Flashback-**_

Donna narrowed her eyes. She remembered the time when Donald explained the situation about her parents entirely to her.

_**-Flashback-**_

_"Donna, you have to let me explain this to you," said Donald. Donna nodded slowly. "You see Donna, our parents weren't the… best parents."_

_"I realized that," interrupted Donna coolly. _

_"No, just let me explain. Are you wondering why they kicked you out with just Dolores's word?" asked Donald. Donna nodded slowly again. "Well, let me explain why. You see, Dolores had been feeding them many lies. Did you ever wonder why they always got so angry with you and not Dolores? At first, they only listened to Dolores because she was the youngest in the family. They always were fonder of her because of that. _

_"Then they began to believe her. Dolores would make up total lies, thing like 'oh, Donna was hitting me today', and 'oh, Donna stole my toy'. They didn't believe her at first because the things she said were childish. _

_"Then our parents started looking into the things she was talking about. If she said that you hit her, then they would look for signs of violence from you. Before long, they decided that Dolores was lying. And then came the time when you let the puffskein in. You remember that time, right?" _

_Donna nodded again. She had let a puffskein in because it looked really cute and she had grown attached to it. Her parents were very prejudiced against any magical creatures, and made her get rid of it right away. _

"_Well, after that they began to listen to Dolores more. They began to believe her. They began to make up excuses, and before long they were convinced that you were how Dolores made you. They thought you were a horrible child. _

"_That set the seeds. When they saw you chasing the niffler, and when Dolores shouted that it was you, they believed Dolores because that was what they had been doing all along, even though they should have looked into your side first," said Donald. _

"_But… why was Dolores doing that?" asked Donna. _

"_She was jealous. She doesn't look like much, I mean really, who would want to look like a toad? And you look very nice, Donna, whether you admit it or not. And you're perfect in many ways. So Dolores turned our parents against you. She couldn't do it to me because they know me already," said Donald. Donna took a deep breath. _

_That was the day she decided that she would be a Death Eater_

_**-End Flashback-**_

Donna sighed and took another sip of her wine.

* * *

James glared at Lily. She just wouldn't understand that what she did was wrong! 

"He would have gotten himself killed!" she shouted.

"He's not a child, Lily!" shouted back James. Madam Pomfrey looked to be having a fit because they were shouting around her patients.

"He's only fifteen!" Lily screeched.

"And how old were you when you first got into the war?" yelled James.

"I was seventeen, James. I was an adult!"

"Really? An adult? Well, you aren't acting like one now!"

"Stop it!" shouted Sirius. "What's done is done. We can't change it. Now, Lily, I suggest you leave right now before I wake up Harry, because I know that he will be mad," Lily huffed, but left the hospital wing. Sirius sighed and took out his wand.

* * *

Ron gave a harsh gasp. His breaths were uneven and he clutched his side in hopes of ridding it of its cramp. He was currently running away from the Graphorns as fast as he possibly could. The Graphorns may be bigger, therefore can cover larger distances faster, but they were in a forest that had trees all over. Ron was able to dodge around the trees and keep running while the Graphorns had to go through them. 

Ron knew that he needed to find a place to hide. Too bad that he hadn't been in the forest many times (he usually tried to avoid going in here as often as possible). He didn't know where to hide. And he was hopelessly lost too.

Ron lost track of where he was heading (not that he really even knew) and lost track of his surroundings. The only things that he could concentrate on was running and not running into trees. And then he burst out into a hollow of sorts and he stopped dead in his tracks.

_Damn. Aragog.

* * *

_

James shuddered from the look on Harry's face. He had never seen a face show so much raw anger like that… it to tell the truth it was a little frightening. He could tell by the way Sirius drew back and hurried away, muttering about homework that needed to be done, that he thought so too. Especially since Sirius didn't have any homework, as he was an adult and wasn't a student, and even if he did have homework he wouldn't have done it anyways. Remus shifted and looked away, clearing his throat nervously.

"Where is she?" asked Harry. What scared James now was not the anger on his face, or the tight grip he had on his wand, but the dangerous calmness in his voice. It almost seemed to shout that someone was going to get hurt.

"Sirius sent her away," muttered James, looking away from Harry and gazing at a window. He heard a rustle of bed sheets and looked back just in time to see Harry halfway out the door.

"Wait! Are you going after her?" shouted James. Harry stared at him like he was insane.

"Of course not. I have to save Ron," Harry simply said, and was gone without another word. James pitied the creature that would face Harry's wrath.

* * *

Harry strode throughout the halls, ignoring the large amount of whispering taking place from the students. Almost everyone knew what had happened now, but as he heard someone whispering about how there was thirty death eaters and twenty giants, he wondered _what_ they had heard. 

He made his way outside and through the grounds. He walked into the forest, carefully forgetting the fact that Dumbledore should probably be doing this and not him. He made his way through roots, shrubs, and bushes. He never once decreased his pace, which was a very fast walk. For a moment he wondered about this, but brushed it off.

Harry gave a frustrated sigh. He needed a way to find Ron! Just walking around wasn't accomplishing anything! Harry got an idea. He pretty much knew this wasn't going to work, and if it did it would be very dangerous, but he had to try. Harry closed his eyes, and began to concentrate on transforming into a hawk.

He opened his eyes, and found he had done it!

But then his hawk's mind began to fight to take over.

* * *

Lily sighed in distress. So what she did wasn't best. So what? She had done it to protect Harry, and she didn't regret it. What she did regret was losing the trust he had in her. She knew that she was the parent he always came to no matter what when he had a problem doing something. Now he would most likely go to someone else. 

Lily sighed and turned to stare out of the window in her office. Her distress was soon replaced by burning anger. She hadn't wanted her son in danger. Why would people scold her for that? It didn't matter if he was the boy who lived and was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. What did matter to her was that people would now most likely view her in the wrong. Harry was only fifteen. He shouldn't be taking those kinds of risks.

Lily turned on her heel and walked out of her office. She began to wander, just thinking about Harry. Before long, her feet had led her to the hospital wing. She blinked before peeking in. She heard Sirius and Remus talking in undertones.

"So he went off by himself?" whispered Sirius questioningly.

"Yeah. Walked into the forest again. Did you see him when he woke up? He was furious!" said Remus softly.

"I've never seen anyone get that scary when they were angry, even James," said Sirius. There was awe lacing his voice.

"I can't believe Lily did that…" by that point she had stopped listening. They had let him go off into the forest again. By himself. With no one with him. Lily felt like kicking something. So, of course, when James walked out of the hospital wing he was on the floor a second later sporting an aching shin.

"Dammit Lily! Why'd you kick me?!" he howled as he held his bruising leg.

"Harry's in the forest again, isn't he?" she asked, her voice sounding deadly.

"Yeah," said James, coughing nervously. Lily glared at him.

"You idiot! Why would you let him do that?" yelled Lily.

"Because he would have found a way anyway! Better get it over with then stalling!" shouted James back. Madam Pomfrey stuck her head out of the door.

"Be quiet! There are patients!" she hissed. Lily and James quickly fell silent. Neither wanted to face her wrath.

* * *

Ginny gave a gasp when she was finally informed of what happened. She wasted no time in leaving Professor Dumbledore's office and heading to the hospital wing. Everything swam around in her head… people were injured… Graphorns… Ron didn't come back yet. Yet. Ginny ran into the hospital wing, clutching her side and panting. 

"Where's Harry?" she gasped out. Remus gave her a startled glance.

"He went back into the forest, but…" Ginny didn't waste any time in listening to the rest of his statement. She began to run again, but this time towards the forest.

* * *

Harry struggled to hold back his primitive side. He was warned that this would happen when he completed the complete transformation. As soon as he did it, his hawk's mind would try to take over. As soon as it did that, he had to fight it and let his human mind take over. This was one of the hardest parts of becoming an animagus. Many people weren't able to win the fight and their animal would take over. After that… well, they would live the rest of their days as an animal. It was one of the reasons that not many people tried to become an animagus. 

And then Harry began to feel his animal side winning.

Harry took a deep breath and fought back. Before long they were at a stalemate. Harry kept pushing it back, but it refused to recede. Harry suddenly felt a soothing presence fill his body. The hawk's mind slowly retreated. Harry (still in his hawk form) looked up into Ginny's concerned eyes.

"Harry?" she whispered. Harry gave a nod. He wondered for a moment how odd it must look like to see a hawk nodding, but pushed the thought aside. He stared up at Ginny. He concentrated on turning back into a human. When he did so successfully, he raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"To help you," she said.

"Ginny, you can't help. Just go back," said Harry. Ginny glared.

"No. I can help. You sound like your mother," said Ginny. She had obviously heard what had happened. Harry scowled, but nodded.

"This sure slows me down. I was going to look around in my hawk form, but with you here…" said Harry. Ginny flushed hotly.

"I'll just follow you," she said. Harry raised his eyebrow again. She simply glared at him menacingly.

"Fine," said Harry shortly, and before Ginny could really process it he was back in his hawk form. Harry began to fly while Ginny ran underneath him. It didn't take long for Harry to eventually find Ron.

* * *

Ron blasted another spider out of the way. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep this up. The Graphorns had begun to fight the spiders, and for some reason the spiders were winning. Stupid spiders. 

Then came the screech of a hawk, and a shout of a human. He spun around and came face to face with an out of breath Ginny and a hawk that quickly turned into Harry. Ron felt relief wash over his body, but it was quickly replaced by fear as spiders began to advance on them. Ron turned just in time to have a spider's leg hit him, knocking him out.

* * *

After the spider hit Ron, Harry wasted no time in spinning into action. The Sword of Merlin, which was always invisible at his side, had been unsheathed and Harry began to slice through the advancing spiders. It looked like the spiders were winning because of strength in numbers and all of their webs, which were slowing the Graphorns down drastically. 

Harry made his way over to a nearby Graphorn and sliced its leg. The Sword went through it like butter. The Graphorn roared and fell. Harry got an idea. If he just injured them all, then Dumbledore would be able to come and deal with them. Harry really didn't want to kill anything. Though, by the way the spiders were advancing, he might just have to.

His scar burst out in pain, and he could almost hear faint screams before his and Ice's occlumency slammed the connection shut. Harry ignored the incident for the moment; there were more pressing problems.

* * *

Her lord left the room. Donna tried to sit up, but quickly set herself down after swearing. Her entire body ached after that bout of cruciatus curses. He had to have done it at least ten times before he was satisfied. 

Donna forced her abused body up, ignoring the pain shooting through it. She stumbled out of the room and into the one next to it. The Dark Lord currently was residing in the Riddle House. Donna walked unsteadily through that room and into the next one, which was safe to apparate from. She came face to face with Bellatrix.

"Ohhh…. Did the little baby get hurt?" she taunted. Donna rolled her eyes. If she had learnt one thing from Bella, it was that she never could resist poking fun at others pain.

"Nice to see you too, Bella," said Donna. The smile slipped from Bella's face and was replaced by a scowl.

"Don't try to win favors with the Dark Lord. I will always be his most faithful servant!" she cried. It took her a moment to realize that Donna had already apparated from the room.

Donna walked into her kitchen and opened one of her cabinets. She got out one of her wine glasses and poured a cup. She turned around only to blink when a pair of yellow eyes loomed up into her face.

Donna sighed and took the message from the owl.

_Donna, _

_Your help is needed at the ministry. Please hurry._

_Cornelius_

Donna raised her eyebrows. Since when was she so close to the minister that he was sending her messages himself? And so informal… Donna quickly ran into her room to change out of her Death Eater robes and into different ones. She rushed out of the room and into the kitchen as she tried to find her other shoe. She whipped around, trying to locate the shoe, only to knock over the glass of wine. She sighed. She would have to clean that out later. At least none got on her robes…

She quickly picked up her glass and threw it somewhere. She could hear glass shattering, but paid it no mind. She hurried and apparated out, wondering what could be so important.

She hurried from the atrium to the minister's office. She knocked on the office door, and when she received a voice telling her to come in, she walked into the office. By this time her body felt like it was going to give out from the strain.

"Did you need something?" she asked as the minister looked up.

"There has been an incident at Hogwarts…"

* * *

A/N: I think we all realized that I missed my usual update time. I have an excuse. A virus attacked our computer, and it deleted the Internet from right off our computer. Of course, my dad couldn't find the disk to put it back on, so we had to wait for the company to send it to us. It took a long while. During that time, I had to go to the library to go on the Internet. So why couldn't I update? I didn't have my documents at the library, of course. And even if I did my chapter wasn't written all the way, because my dad wanted to clear the computer completely. 

So, he deleted everything (thankfully he backed it up). But I didn't get my stories put back on the computer for a week or two, so I couldn't write. We finally got the Internet back, and I wrote the rest of the chapter quickly. Which is why the ending is bad, and the chapter so short. Since it is, I've decided to make the next chapter long.

Also, _I don't want complaints. _I expect people to complain about my absence, and I warn you. If too many people complain, then _I will purposefully miss the next update time_. I can stand one or two complaints, because most people don't read author notes, but if too many people do then I'll update a week or two late.

I don't have much to say other than that. Review please!


	25. Chapter 25

**Returning of the Parents **

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 25

* * *

**

Harry sliced almost desperately at the spiders. They just kept coming. Ginny was shooting spells at them, and had taken to staying behind Harry in case any tried to get him from behind. Ron was almost forgotten by the creatures, laying still a ways away.

Harry let loose a harsh pant as a spider got through his defense. One of its pincers clamped down on left arm, and Harry felt excruciating pain. Harry glanced down and winced at the sight of a bloody mess of an arm. He could hear Ginny yelling behind him, but Harry was focusing solely on the spiders, and the occasional Graphorn.

Harry snarled as a spider tried to go for Ginny. Harry killed that one, unlike the others that he was just wounding. He felt every instinct in his body react as more began to go for Ginny. Harry felt himself losing control… Harry quickly reclaimed his control and began to go after the spiders with renewed vigor.

Before long, the spiders began to lesson. He saw a sudden opening, and shouted at Ginny. "Come on!" he yelled, and before the spiders could react he had grabbed Ron and began to run, Ginny hot on his heels.

Harry could hear the spiders behind them. His arm was killing him, and he was feeling horribly dizzy from the blood loss, but he kept going. Ron was putting weight on his arm, and Harry could feel black spots coming into his vision. He ignored them, tried to push them away.

He could hear Ginny having a difficult time trying to keep up with his pace. For a wounded person, Harry thought, he could sure run fast. Maybe it was the adrenaline. He kept running, and the running, and running…

And then deep, dark blackness took over.

* * *

Ginny gave a strangled sob as Harry finally fell. She ran to his side immediately. She could hear spiders coming and advancing on them. She grabbed Harry and tried to pull him up, but unfortunately he was too heavy. She didn't even bother to try and lift Ron.

She looked up at the spiders. There were Graphorns among them, and it looked like the Graphorns and spiders had joined forces. She felt the beginnings of panic. She wouldn't be able to stop them from killing them.

A shield suddenly erected itself around her, Harry, and Ron. Ginny gaped at it. It was sparkling blue and when a spider tried to go through it, and was forced away. Ginny heard a hissing, and looked to see Ice slithering out of Harry's robes. Ice stared up at her.

"You did this?" she asked. Ice gave a slow nod. She wondered at him understanding English, but didn't brood on it. "You got to do something! It don't know any healing or anything!" she blurted out. She waited for a reaction of some kind, but Ice seemed content just to wait. She felt herself tear up in frustration.

"Why aren't you helping!" she shouted at him, hysteria coloring her voice. Ice gave her a glance that looked amused. She lunged for the snake, only to hear shouts.

"GINNY?! HARRY?! RON?! WHERE ARE YOU?" came a distant shout. Ginny felt her heart flutter in hope. They would be saved… that was why the snake was so relaxed.

"WE'RE OVER HERE! HELP US!" screamed Ginny with all her might. She heard more distant shouts, and heard them start to come closer.

"KEEP SHOUTING SO WE CAN LOCATE YOU!" came another shout.

"WE'RE OVER HERE! SPIDERS AND GRAPHORNS ARE ATTACKING US! HARRY AND RON ARE BOTH UNCONSCIOUS, HARRY IS HURT, AND ICE HAS A SHIELD UP!" she yelled. More shouts were coming closer. Ginny held her breath, then Dumbledore, James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius burst out of the trees.

The spiders ran away when they saw the furious headmaster. The Graphorns paused, and started trying to attack the headmaster. At once, several Graphorns fell. The others retreated, looking like they were going to regroup themselves. The shield around them fell, and the group rushed forward.

What happened next was all one big blur for Ginny. One moment they were standing there, staring at the wounded Harry who was slowly bleeding to death, another moment they were in the hospital wing, praying for Harry to wake up. Ice was dozing contentedly on a bed, the lazy git. Ginny felt like smacking him, but refrained in case they needed him.

Madam Pomfrey was beside herself, berating Dumbledore one minute for letting Harry get into this situation, then the next moment she was saving Harry's life, then the next moment she was forcing Hermione back into bed, and then she was pushing an annoyed Ice off the bed so she could get Ron onto a bed and look at him.

If the situation weren't so serious, Ginny would have laughed at the indignant look on Ice's face. He looked thoroughly put out, and Ginny felt that Ice really deserved it if the way Harry described him was true. Harry usually described him as a "horrible, sarcastic snake that doesn't know when to shut up and let me sleep".

Ginny took in a deep breath and got up from the bed she was sitting on. She made her way over to Remus who looked to be the calmest of everyone (not including the Headmaster). "Do you know how they're doing?" she asked.

"Not a clue," he said. The way he said it reminded Ginny strongly of Ice, as Remus was very relaxed and didn't seem to be concerned. Ginny huffed and turned away, walking over to where James and Sirius sat.

"Do you know how everyone's doing?" she asked. They shook their heads, and Ginny began to go towards a distraught Lily, before rethinking her actions and veering off towards the Headmaster. He seemed to know what she was going to ask before she even opened her mouth.

"They'll be alright. Harry won't be able to use his arm fully for a while, and Ron will require much bed rest, but they will come out of this fine," he said serenely. Ginny gave the Headmaster a grateful smile.

"How's Hermione?" she asked.

"She'll be fine. She'll be spending a while in bed too, but will recover," he said. Ginny frowned.

"Didn't the others get injured from the Graphorns too?" asked Ginny.

"Madam Pomfrey patched them up right away. They suffer from no side effects, and Lily's baby is fine," said Dumbledore. Ginny nodded and sighed a little in relief.

As she made her way over to a chair to sit in, the events started to catch up to her. Harry was now a hawk animagus. He had completed the entire transformation. She smiled as she remembered his form. He had looked just like she thought she would, with messy feathers and a small bolt of lightening on his forehead that was nearly impossible to see.

And then there was him fighting. He had looked so heroic, cutting down the spiders and Graphorns like that. Then there was that sword. Graphorn hide was tough, it was said that it was resistant to nearly any spell and curse. How could have the Sword gone through it so easy? She had heard the legends and stuff behind the Sword of Merlin, but she had never thought that they were true!

Ginny scanned the hospital wing and her eyes landed on the bed that Harry was lying in. His face was pale, but the color was slowly coming back. Her eyes found themselves traveling down to his lips. Ginny blushed and forced her eyes away from Harry, instead she found herself looking at an amused Ice who was watching her.

She gave a startled squeak and fell off her chair. Ice gave what could be taken as a laugh. She glared at the snake and wished that it would slither off and die. It gave her one more amused glance before slithering off to Harry. Ginny watched as the snake curled up on Harry's chest, giving a hiss of contentment. Until, of course, Madam Pomfrey pushed the snake off Harry and onto the floor. Ginny stifled her laugh as Ice gave a glare at the Healer.

"Um, Ginny, is there a reason that you're on the floor and laughing?" asked a concerned Remus. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Ice," she muttered.

"You need ice?" asked a now confused Remus. Ginny shook her head.

"Never mind," she said as she got up from the floor and began to exit the hospital wing, still giggling at the antics of the snake. She stopped as she found the Headmaster blocking her way.

"Now, Miss Weasley, if you could tell us what happened?" asked Dumbledore. Ginny gulped and avoided the Headmaster's piercing gaze.

"I think it's Harry's story to tell, not mine," she muttered.

"But there might be something we need to know…" started Dumbledore, but Ginny cut him off.

"Yeah, ask Harry, he knows more," she snapped and dodged around the Headmaster to get to the door.

"Ginny!" said her mother. Ginny gave a jump. When did her parents get here? From the looks on their faces, as soon as she had said that to the Headmaster. Her mother looked quite furious at her rudeness.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ginny, only to feel immediately stupid. They had come for Ron, of course, as he was injured!

"Ron and Harry. Professor Dumbledore said that they were injured! And Hermione too," said Mrs. Weasley. Ginny nodded and attempted to slip out of the hospital wing unnoticed. No such luck. "Don't you dare leave until you apologize to the Headmaster, Ginny!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"No," said Ginny simply. "It's Harry's story to tell, and I just informed the Headmaster that. Since he didn't seem to comprehend that, I just told him a bit harsher than I should have," Ginny winced a little when she saw the look on her mother's face. Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say, but she was tired and all she wanted to do was go lie down and sleep for a couple of days.

"Ginny, how dare you-," her sentence trailed of when she realized her daughter was already out the door and hurrying to her dorm room.

* * *

James couldn't stop looking at his son. Every time he looked at his son's pale face guilt began to eat at him, telling him that he should have been with his son and prevented this from happening.

But he hadn't been with his son, and his son had handled the situation quite well in his opinion.

James couldn't really deny it anymore. Harry was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and until Harry made a stupid decision or needed his help James would treat him like the adult he was.

Of course, James was still going to prank him and tease him, but he wasn't going to keep too many Order things from him. He just wouldn't tell him everything.

Now, if only he could convince Albus to tell Harry the prophecy then everything would be fine. James set his eyes on said person as he talked to Ginny. James frowned as he saw Ginny seemingly insult the Headmaster and Molly grow angry with her daughter. He would have to find out from the Headmaster or Ginny what had happened.

James was suddenly aware of a soft hissing at his feet. He looked down to see Ice. The snake was hissing at him, looking like he wanted to tell him something. He found out a second later as he heard a moan from Harry's bed. James was over there in a flash, calling for Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey was instantly by his side as she began to look over a confused and groggy Harry.

"Ugh… go away Ice… lemme sleep…" he muttered as he tried to push away Madam Pomfrey. James stifled a laugh.

"Mr. Potter, I assure you that I am no snake," she snapped. Harry seemed to come fully awake and looked at her.

"Of course you're not, why would you think that?" asked Harry, not seeming to realize that he had been addressing her as Ice. The snake in question slithered onto Harry's lap, only to be pushed off again by Pomfrey. Ice gave a very irritated hiss. Harry began to laugh.

"Nice job, Madam Pomfrey," said Harry.

"What?" she asked quizzically as she waved her wand over Harry.

"You did a good job in irritating Ice. I don't think I've ever heard him swear so colorfully except for the time I threw him into the lake," said Harry.

"You threw your familiar into the lake?" yelped James.

"Yeah, well, he made sure I came in with him," said Harry sourly.

James just shook his head at his son. Maybe he wasn't as grown up as he seemed. Dumbledore chose that moment to come by Harry's bed.

"Ah, good, you are up," said Dumbledore with his customary twinkle. "I was wondering if you could tell me what happened in the forest? Miss Weasley wouldn't tell me anything,"

"Yeah, went to the forest, found Ron, killed a couple of spider and Graphorns, wounded some, grabbed Ron who had gotten himself knocked unconscious and ran. You found me there," said Harry while looking morosely down at his arm, which looked very torn up.

"Could you be more specific?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, what do you want to know?" asked Harry.

"How you wounded the Graphorns and spiders?"

"Magic," replied Harry vaguely. The questioning went on like this for quite a while. Ice was lying on Harry's lap. He hadn't hissed once during the entire time, but as Dumbledore looked like he was about to end the completely useless questioning Ice gave a sudden hiss. A startled Harry began to hiss rapidly back. Madam Pomfrey, who had been checking over Harry while all this was happening gave a surprised start and poked Harry very hard with her wand. Harry gave her an annoyed glance before resuming his conversation with his snake.

Dumbledore looked interested, but was obviously lost at the conversation in parseltongue. Harry stopped hissing and looked up at the Headmaster coolly.

"Ice would like you to stop trying to break into my mind, as it is tiring for him to keep you out with his shields," Harry said. James froze and stared at the Headmaster. He couldn't be using Legilimency, could he? But by the paling of the Headmaster's face, it was obvious that he had.

"Harry, I was just-,"

"Save it," groaned Harry. "I'm not in the mood for this," he said as he got up. Madam Pomfrey gave a fierce glare.

"Back into bed, Mr. Potter. You're still hurt…" she said as she pushed him forcefully back into the bed. Harry winced as she jolted his hurt arm.

James grabbed the snake before he could strike out at the Healer. Ice gave a furious hiss, and Harry began to hiss rapidly in parseltongue. Ice seemed to calm down, so James let him go. Ice glared at Pomfrey but settled down next to Harry, and when Madam Pomfrey made a motion to push him off the bed he gave a hiss and she reluctantly backed away.

James wondered what Harry had said to Ice. It was one of the first times that he really wanted to understand parseltongue. His curiosity knew no bounds, so he had to ask.

"What were you saying?" asked James.

"Nothing important," said Harry. James felt a stab of disappointment, but sighed and began to walk away after nodded and bidding Harry a goodbye.

Harry glared at Madam Pomfrey as she proceeded to force potions down his throat. "I don't really need all this crap in me, do I?" he spat out as she tried to make him take another potion. She glared at him.

"Of course you do! Your arm was severely injured and it needs these potions to heal!" she said as she made him drink a slimy gray potion. Harry gagged as it slowly went down his throat.

"My arm will be fine!" he protested. She ignored him and forcefully made him drink another foul potion. Ice was lounging on his lap, but gave a hiss as Madam Pomfrey succeeded in pushing him off again.

_/THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME! I swear, I will kill her for that!/ _hissed Ice as he began to go for the Healer. Harry grabbed the murderous snake and put him in his lap.

_/You're just in her way. Just let her do her job/_

_/Like you let her do her job, with all your complaining and moaning/_

_/At least she doesn't push me off beds/ _

_/Impudent boy. I should bite you for that/_

_/It's true/ _hissed Harry. Harry laughed as Ice began to mutter swears as Madam Pomfrey pushed him off the bed again, this time on accident.

_/That's it, I see I'm not wanted/ _muttered Ice as he began to slither out of the hospital wing. Harry smirked. Harry knew he had won. Harry lounged in the hospital wing bed, feeling satisified, even though Madam Pomfrey was still stuffing him full of potions. He remained that way for five minutes. Until he felt a sudden burst of pain. It seemed to spread slowly throughout his entire body, and he knew instinctively that Ice was hurt. Harry ignored Madam Pomfrey's shouts as he jumped up and began to run out of the hospital wing.

He was still in his bloody robes, but he ran down the corridor anyways. Everyone was at dinner so no one was in the halls. All he could think about was that Ice was hurt… he supposed it was because of the bond they had that he was able to know this.

Harry followed his senses and turned down a barely ever used corrider. He hurried down it and came to sight that made him very, _very _angry.

Malfoy had somehow gotten to Ice, and was holding his wand to the snake's head.

Harry held his breath for one moment before charging forward. Ice wasn't unconscious, just hurt. He was hissing horribly and looked very angry with the boy who dared try to hurt him. He had succeeded in placing a wound on his body, but that was all. Malfoy had merely taken him by surprise.

Harry did the first thing he could think of; punch Malfoy. His fist slammed into Malfoy's nose and judging by the crack had broken it. Harry didn't stop there. He proceeded to pummel every inch that he could reach. By the time he stopped, Malfoy was unconscious.

_/What did he do to you?/ _asked Harry.

_/The damn boy took me by surprise. I was taking a shortcut to the common room, one that really isn't known when the boy came across me. He had a spell on him to make him pretty much undetectable, so was able to cut me. After that he tried to curse me, but I put up a shield. You came along after that, and beat him up. Good job with that, by the way. Can I poison him?/_

_/No. Hey, wait a minute; I thought that no one knew about you other than my friends, my parents and me? Why wasn't Pomfrey surprised when she saw you?/ _

_/Oh, that. Remus explained everything to them while you were saving Ron/_

_/You were with me then, how do you know that the discussed it?/_

_/Because I know everything/_

_/That makes me laugh/_

_/Can I bite you instead?/_

James chose this time to come running around the corner. "Harry, what happened?!" he asked, his eyes taking in Malfoy, lying on the floor looking very bloody and Ice's cut.

"Malfoy attacked Ice. Because he was able to wound Ice I was alerted to this, and came running. I… knocked him unconscious and here we are!" said Harry, trying to gloss things over.

"So Malfoy just happened to be bleeding when you arrived?"

"Uh… yes?"

"Right. Come on, then," said James as he waved his wand to levitate Malfoy to the hospital wing. Harry followed him. Ice healed himself on the way, the cut vanishing and replacing itself with flawless white scales.

As they entered the hospital wing, they found Madam Pomfrey panicking, along with a hysterical Lily and a Dumbledore who looked disappointed. When they saw them Madam Pomfrey instantly ushered him into a bed.

"Don't you dare go running off like that again! WHAT HAPPENED?!" she screeched as she suddenly saw Draco Malfoy behind James.

"He attacked Ice," muttered Harry darkly. Lily seemed to be calming down enough to set furious eyes onto her son.

"Harry, you can't just beat up students-," she started but was soon cut off by Harry.

"_SHUT UP!"_ he roared. "HE ATTACKED ICE!"

"That's enough, Lily, Harry. Lily, Harry had a good reason to attack Mr. Malfoy. Harry, don't shout at Lily," said James calmly. Harry quieted, but glared at his mother. Lily just looked upset.

"If you could tell us what happened, Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore gravely. Harry sighed and avoided Dumbledore's eyes. He didn't want an attack on his mind right now.

"Sure. Madam Pomfrey was giving me a whole ton of potions when I felt a pain all over my body. I realized that Ice was being attacked, and I acted. I ran out of the hospital wing and I soon found Ice. Malfoy here had attacked him and I, of course, defended him. I was able to knock him unconscious and then my father came along. And now here we are," said Harry. Dumbledore frowned.

"Now, Harry, you can't attack a student without a good reason…" he began. He never got to finish.

"A GOOD REASON? _A GOOD REASON? _DID I NOT JUST SAY THAT HE ATTACKED MY BONDED FAMILIAR?! ARE YOU DEAF? ICE HAS SAVED MY LIFE, HERMIONE'S LIFE, MY SANITY, AND HAS DONE SO MANY THINGS TO HELP US! BUT, OF COURSE, THAT _ISN'T A GOOD REASON! TELL ME, PROFESSOR, WHAT A GOOD REASON WOULD BE!_" Harry bellowed. Professor Dumbledore looked shocked, as did everyone else in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was so stunned that she even forgot to reprimand him for yelling around her patients.

"Harry, that's enough! You can't shout at the Headmaster!" said Lily in a strained voice. Harry glared at her.

"I already did," he stated as though it was common sense. Lily glared at him.

"Harry James Potter, you apolo-,"

"If you think for one moment that I'm going to apologize to a man who just insulted Ice and indirectly insulted me, then you are insane," said Harry rudely. "I've had enough of this. I'm leaving," he said as he got up. Ice gave a hiss and curled around his leg. Harry gave a comforting hiss back.

He could feel the emotions coming from Ice. Their bond was very strong lately, it was almost as if being in all these situations had strengthened their relationship. Ice was very angry right now, very angry indeed. After angrily stalking down the halls, Harry made his way to the Chamber of Secrets without caring that someone might be watching him do it. He jumped in and prepared for a harsh training session. Both him and Ice needed it.

* * *

Harry came out of the Chamber the next day in horrible pain. His arm throbbed and had started bleeding badly again. Maybe a training session hadn't been the best solution, but it sure relieved some of the stress. Harry clutched his arm to his chest as he hurried out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Harry walked down the corroder sedately, like he had nothing in the world to be worried or concerned about. Of course, his arm was throbbing worse than ever, and he hadn't slept at all the last night. It was already seven in the morning. And the fight with Hermione hadn't been completely settled. And his small argument with his mother. And the Graphorns were still in the forest. Not to mention that he didn't know whom the Death Eater was.

Harry shrugged, but winced when it moved his arm. He held his arm tighter, cradling it in his embrace. He quickly stopped holding it tighter. It hurt worse with more pressure on it.

Harry slowly made his way to the infirmary. He might as well get this fixed. He didn't fancy having his arm fall off because of his pride. He just hoped that no one would be there.

Of course, with his luck, everyone was bustling around the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was checking over her patients, Lily was talking with Remus in a corner, Hermione was being force fed a nasty looking potion, James and Sirius were also in a corner looking suspiciously like they were planning a prank, Ron and Ginny were both dozing on two different beds, Dumbledore was discussing something with Cornelius Fudge and an irate looking Lucius Malfoy, and Molly Weasley was sitting in a chair… hold on, what were they doing here? Harry quickly looked back at Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge. His eyes narrowed.

Harry strode quickly over to Madam Pomfrey, who had straightened upon seeing him. "Mr. Potter!" she exclaimed. She had a large frown on her face, and when she saw his arm her frown intensified. "Come here this instant!"

He did not need to follow her command, as she was by his side in an instant and ushering him into bed. She began to bustle around for more potions while most the people in the hospital wing perked up at hearing he was back.

"Harry!" said Hermione, but she was cut off from further comment when the spoon that Madam Pomfrey had enchanted to feed her stuffed another spoonful of potion into her mouth. She gagged. Harry resisted smirking at her disgusted expression. It felt nice to have that done to someone other than him.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, care to tell us where you went last night?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes, I do care," said Harry simply. Fudge's eyes widened.

"Now, you can't talk to the Headmaster like that!" he blustered. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I just did," he said. Fudge began to blabber on about something, but it was clear that no one was listening, because talk had exploded out over the hospital wing. No one could believe how uncivil Harry was being to the Headmaster. It was only after a couple of fireworks from Dumbledore's wand (which Madam Pomfrey looked very irritated at, as it had quickly woken up any patients that were sleeping) that silence was restored.

"That's enough," said Professor Dumbledore. He gave Harry a stern look before turning back to the minister. "Now, what were you here for again, Cornelius?"

"Here to tell you that the new Defense teacher should be coming by sometime today. I told her to meet me here around this time. Also, I'm here on a complaint against one Harry James Potter for releasing a dangerous animal inside the school-,"

"Hold on, I didn't release a dangerous animal. That was a Death Eater," Harry interjected. Fudge raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean the Graphorns. I meant a snake," he said snottily. Harry's eyes widened.

"Dangerous animal? I don't know what crap Draco Malfoy has been feeding you, but Ice is no dangerous animal. Malfoy attacked him first, Ice had a right to self defense," snarled Harry. Unknown to him, potion bottles were shaking slightly on the shelves.

"Potter, you will not talk about my son like that," snarled Lucius Malfoy.

"Malfoy, you will not talk about my snake like that," shot Harry right back at him. Lily groaned and put her face in her hands. She groaned something that sounded along the lines of 'we're doomed'. James and Sirius were both snickering at Malfoy's expression.

"How dare you speak to me like you're my equal!" he nearly shouted, his face losing his usually cold expression.

"How dare you speak to me like I'm under you," Harry shouted right back. A glass nearby shattered. Harry felt his control slipping again… but quickly regained it when Ice gave a comforting hiss. Malfoy narrowed his eyes. Fudge, seeing it was about to get out of hand, intervened.

"Now, now, calm down. Mr. Potter, everything will be fine. Draco Malfoy will heal, and we will kill the snake-,"

"HOW THE HELL IS THAT COMFORTING?!" Harry shouted. Fudge looked uncomfortable.

"Well, it _is _a snake, Mr. Potter," he muttered. Harry, ignoring Madam Pomfrey stood up from the bed he was on. He began to hiss very loudly in parseltongue. Okay, so he was swearing in parseltongue, but all the same it was loud hissing. Ice was giving what could be described as a laugh underneath his robes at his foul language.

"Mr. Potter, you will stop that dark magic immediately!" said Fudge who looked positively alarmed. Harry didn't listen.

_/YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, LITTLE WORM WHO CAN'T PICK OUT GOOD CLOTHES IN THE MORNING, LET ALONE LEAD A COUNTRY…/_

"Mr. Potter!" said Fudge, looking scandalized. Harry finally stopped hissing.

"I'm so sorry, Minister, did you say something?" he asked politely. Fudge looked almost sick for a moment.

"W-we will have to kill that snake…"

"Like hell you will. He's my familiar, Minister," said Harry. "And if you kill him then I will withdraw completely from the war and let you lay blame for every single death in Britain when their hero leaves," Now Fudge seriously looked sick.

"Alright, I guess you can keep the snake, but something has to be done…" muttered Fudge.

"Something can be done. Do your work at the Ministry, don't meddle here anymore," said Harry. Fudge looked shocked at the audacity that Harry was showing.

"Mr. Potter, I am trying to improve the education here-,"

"You're trying to control Hogwarts. Anyone can see it. Leave now Minister," commanded Harry. To everyone's surprise, the Minster left, taking Lucius Malfoy with him. There was silence for a few moments before James spoke up.

"Wow. That was brilliant," said James. Harry blushed a little.

"Thank you," he said. Harry looked around to see the reactions of the others. Both James and Sirius were impressed. Hermione and Ron looked unsure of what to think while Ginny looked at him with a supporting expression, indication that no matter what she would stick with him. Remus looked halfway between amusement and exasperation. Lily and Dumbledore, however, both looked disapproving.

"Now, Harry, that wasn't the best way to handle the Minister," started Dumbledore. Harry snorted.

"I don't care. As long as he leaves me alone I'll be happy," said Harry.

No one noticed Harry's eyes suddenly flick to the window, because he did it so quickly that no one even realized that he had.

"This will just make things worse!" said Lily.

"They were already getting bad," snapped Harry. "At least this says that I won't be completely pushed around anymore.

"Excuse me?" came a feminine voice in the doorway. "Is the Minister here?"

Harry froze.

"No, he just left. I suspect you are my new defense teacher?" asked Dumbledore. The woman nodded.

Harry slowly turned towards her.

"Yes. My name is Donna Umbridge. I am very sorry for my sister's actions, they were uncalled for," she said. Harry stared.

He had found who the Death Eater was.

Harry studied her. She had long black hair that went down to her hips. Her eyes were a beautiful violet color. Her lips were in a smile, and her voice was like velvet. But it didn't fool him. Underneath it was a small coating of the cold voice he had heard when confronting the Death Eater. It was enough to tell him exactly who she was.

Harry didn't listen to what Dumbledore and Umbridge were saying. Something about a trial for Umbridge. He was concentrating too hard on her to care. Ice hissed from his shoulders, _/Be careful around her. She's the one who was the Death Eater/_

_/I know/ _murmured Harry. Harry knew that he had to inform the others. But as he looked around, Harry realized that he had lost without even trying. Everyone was drawn to her, and it seemed like they were already friends with her.

Harry took a deep breath.

_Damn._

* * *

Donna smiled indulgently as Sirius Black attempted to flirt with her. Pathetic. She could already tell that they very nearly trusted her. The fools. They were much too trusting, easily swayed by good looks and kind words.

Her eyes traveled to the Potter brat. He was staring at her. His eyes seemed to pierce through her, like he was reading her, judging her. He seemed to communicate with his eyes, telling her that he would never trust her so easily.

She smiled at him. He didn't smiled back, merely narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down on the bed. His arm had started bleeding through that bandages that Madam Pomfrey had managed to put on him.

"Oh, are you okay?" Donna asked. Instantly all attention was turned to the brat. Donna felt like puking. He had so much attention, he would never know what it was like to be neglected and have your brother killed in front of your very eyes.

But she could at least give him some pain, even if it would take a while. She hated to be around the man who had murdered her brother, but it had to be done.

* * *

He panted. The man kept coming after him, mocking him. His blood was everywhere. He knew he would catch up. He always did. Any escape from this hell was futile.

The man yanked on his arm, finally catching up. He looked up fearfully.

"Thought you could get away?"

"Hoping to," he panted. "Never thought running was your strong suit, Lanish,"

"Oh, it's not, but after looking after you for so long has its merits," said Lanish. "I don't know why the Dark Lord keeps you. You're pretty much useless, only really good for torturing,"

"Yes, yes, we all know that you love torture," he snapped. He was struggling to get out of his grip. Lanish's eyes looked insane.

"Now, now, we can't have you escaping. That would ruin everything that the Dark Lord has planned," smirked Lanish. Slowly he dragged the man back into the dungeons.

* * *

At Hogwart's, Harry's scar twitched in sudden pain, but Harry didn't notice because of the potions he was being forced to drink. After a while, the attention left him. Madam Pomfrey declared that he needed rest, and shooed most of the people out of the hospital wing. The rest of the people there were quick in falling asleep.

Harry got up and made his way wearily to the window when he was sure no one was either awake or paying attention to him. Harry leaned towards the windowsill.

"Hello, Rita. Hear anything interesting?"

* * *

And at the Riddle House where Lord Voldemort resides, the Lord looked out of his window and plotted.

* * *

Bellatrix smiled. She would get her revenge on those petty fools that dared call themselves faithful Death Eaters when all they did was leave the Dark Lord. She would get them back. A few of her plans were already in play.

She smiled. Her Lord would be pleased. Hopefully.

Her smiled widened. She would kill those muggle loving fools. Then her Lord would rule over everything. She couldn't wait.

Her smile got even wider.

* * *

A/N: Whew, talk about long chapter! Nearly 6,000 words instead of my usual 4,000. On to another thing… what happened to all the reviews? I get around twenty-eight one chapter, the next I don't even get fifteen? That really upsets me.

Donna has taken a larger role in this story than I would have liked. Already her character is more important to the plot than many others, which I'm sure you'll soon find out. And Lanish is back! For those of you who don't recognize him, refer to the chapter where they all go to Diagon Alley. He makes an appearance there. I couldn't just mention him once and never talk about him again, could I?

Okay, tell me what you think: who is the mysterious man that Lanish is keeping hidden away for Voldemort? This won't be answered for a really long time, but it's fun to guess, right?

Oh, and Dumbledore isn't super manipulative in this story, he just does the things that he thinks are right, even though they're wrong. That means he needs to be involved in Harry's life, and Harry's obviously been frustrating him with his vagueness and stuff.

Oh, make sure that you note a lot of stuff that happens in this chapter. This has to be one of the most important chapters that I've written so far.

Take note: I can be really mean sometimes. ANY LESS THAN THIRTY REVIEWS AND I'LL UPDATE IN THREE WEEKS INSTEAD OF TWO! Please don't make me go through with this threat!

So... REVIEW!


	26. Chapter 26

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 26

* * *

**

Harry was sitting in the hospital wing bed, feeling quite pleased. He was expecting someone to come bursting in at any moment. The newspaper should have gotten to the Great Hall by now. Harry stirred his bowl of porridge for a moment, thinking.

It was morning, around breakfast time. Madam Pomfrey was keeping him for observation, even though his arm was almost completely healed. It still hurt a little to move it, and Madam Pomfrey said it might be sore for a while.

Ron had woken up, and was confused about what had all happened. He had seen Harry's confrontation with the Minister and was completely confused. He had been too tired afterwards to discuss, so when he woke up this morning he was quickly filled in on all that had happened.

Ginny had slept in the hospital wing on the bed next to him. Madam Pomfrey insisted on it, even though Ginny had tried to escape to her own dormitory quite a few times. Hermione was confined to her bed and was promised to get out in a week or two.

At that moment the hospital wing door's burst open and a frazzled looking Lily and a harassed James came running in.

"_HARRY!_ What is this about!" screeched his mother as she shoved the article in his face. Harry scrunched up his nose at the sudden scent of paper that invaded his nose. Harry grabbed the paper and pulled it away from his face to read it.

_**Potter Speaks!**_

_**By: Rita Skeeter**_

_In a surprise statement by Harry Potter, he declared that the Minister was incompetent! This correspondent, Rita Skeeter, was able to hear a conversation between the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, Harry Potter, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and a few other individuals. Listening to them speak, this correspondent was able to gather that Draco Malfoy had attacked Harry Potter's bonded familiar. Harry Potter, in defense of the familiar, was quick to stop him, unfortunately giving him a few wounds in the process. When asked about this, Mr. Potter said, "It is a great regret that I had to hurt Draco Malfoy, but it couldn't have been helped. He had his wand to my familiar's head, so I just reacted."_

_Of course, this correspondent doesn't blame Potter for his actions at all. After all, most would react without thinking when faced with a threat against one's familiars. Unfortunately, Cornelius Fudge doesn't agree with this. He even went as far as to attempt to kill Potter's familiar because Potter had wounded Malfoy!_

_Potter reacted badly against this as well. He was quick to reprimand the Minister against such an action. Potter thinks that the Minister is getting a bit out of line. "Why is he getting involved in such a matter? He's the Minister of Magic, doesn't he have something else to be doing then checking out whether my familiar is dangerous or not?" Potter told this reporter. _

_The Minister was not up to comment. For more information on Harry Potter and the Minister, turn to page 15. For information on the disagreement between Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy, turn to page 2._

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Well, she certainly did a better job than I thought," Harry muttered as he closed the newspaper. Lily gaped at him while James stifled a laugh. Harry raised his eyebrows at them.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Harry, when did you get the time to do this? Why did you do this?" asked Lily.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," said Harry wisely. Lily spluttered indignantly while James roared with laughter. He cast one last amused look at Harry before dragging his irritated wife out of the hospital wing before she kicked someone again.

"What's all the noise?" came a voice from a different bed. Harry stiffened as Hermione appeared from under the covers of her bed. Her hair was much bushier than usual from sleeping, and she looked tired and grumpy.

"Nothing," said Harry quickly, not wanting to get into a fight with her this early in the day. It didn't work.

"Harry, what's happened?" she asked suspiciously. Harry shrugged and threw the paper over to her. She read the article while Harry lounged on his bed. Ice was curled up around his ankles, hissing contentedly. Harry reached down and began to stroke his scales.

"Harry, what is this about?" she asked when she was done reading. Harry stopped petting Ice (if you could call it that) and turned to Hermione.

"Rita was listening into our conversation, so I had to use it to my advantage," Harry said. "It makes me sound like the victim and everything. I think she did a pretty good job with it,"

"But Harry, you can't do stuff like this!" said Hermione. Harry's eyes darkened a little.

"Oh, really? Why not?"

"Because!" she said feebly. It was obvious that she was just used to stopping his every idea, and wasn't used to one that was even a little good. She couldn't really find anything wrong with it, other than the fact that he said he regretted hurting Malfoy, which he most definitely didn't.

"Amazing. You're so articulate," said Harry. He didn't give her time to respond. "Hermione, don't you dare even complain. He know this is a good idea, you just aren't used to me actually coming up with something useful. It makes me sound like the victim, and it will turn to me look good in the face of the public,"

"It's not that, I'm just surprised that I didn't think of it," she said. She sounded sulky. "And anyways, I thought you hated the press. This just doesn't sound like you."

"Whatever," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel like dealing with her right now. Ignoring the fact that he was still supposed to be in bed resting, Harry got up and began to go to the door. His mother chose that moment to run in. She looked very green and was holding her stomach.

"Ugh… where's Madam Pomfrey?" she asked. Harry pointed mutely to her office and Lily ran off as James ran in. He looked rushed.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

"Morning sickness," muttered James. Harry snickered at James's obvious discomfort, until he turned on him and snapped, "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"I… don't recall…" Harry muttered, mentally wincing at the pathetic excuse. James smirked.

"That's what I thought," he snarled. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Lily came running back in.

"Madam Pomfrey says that she's all out of the potions that help morning sickness!" she moaned. James looked pleadingly over at Harry, hoping to be saved, but Harry only shrugged.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be in bed, remember?" James made a rude gesture that set Harry into gales of laughter and Lily glare disapprovingly at him. Until, of course, she started retching.

Harry quickly turned away and began to stride out of the hospital wing, hoping that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't notice. To his immense relief, she didn't. Harry kept going until he reached the Chamber of Secrets where he could hide out for a while. He also needed to talk to Ice about some things.

_/Open/ _he hissed at the sink. It turned into its customary slide and Harry waved to Myrtle as she came out of her toilet. Harry had been keeping Myrtle bribed on not telling anyone and found that the ghost could actually hold a pretty good conversation.

Harry slid down into the pipe and landed on the floor easily. After a nasty fall once he had decided to put a very comfortable cushion at the entrance. Now when he slid out of the pipe he landed on the cushion instead of the floor.

Harry settled into a meditative position in front of the statue. Ice came uncurled from his position on his ankle and stretched out. Harry waited until Ice was completely comfortable before beginning to fire out questions.

_/How did I know that you were hurt? Is it the bond that we have? How was the Sword of Merlin able to cut through those Graphorns so easily? What's your opinion on Umbridge, the one that isn't going to Azkaban?/_

_/Slow down. You knew that I was hurt from the bond we have. The longer we are bonded the more intense it will become. For instance, look at Dumbledore and his phoenix. They speak completely different languages, but because they have been together long enough they can understand each other almost perfectly/_

_/You're saying that they can talk to each other?/_

_/No. It's very difficult to explain. They can understand each other… but they can't communicate. They can just sense what the other is trying to tell them. Make sense?/_

_/Not at all/_

_/You're so dense/_

_/If we're through discussing my intelligence level, can we get back to the original discussion?/ _

_/I don't know how to explain it other than what I just said. They can sense what each other are trying to say, in a way. They don't all the time, but most of it. When you are bonded for many years, decades even, you can realize what they say with ease. If you are bonded long enough you can even mind speak with each other, also known as telecommunicate. I'm not sure that even Dumbledore and Fawkes have achieved that! It takes years to master. You are lucky that you can speak my language/_

_/Depends on how you look at it/_

_/Impudent boy. Are you implying that I'm not good to talk to?/_

_/I'm not implying, I'm stating/_

_/See if you get any more answers from me/_

_/Wait, Ice, come back! Don't slither away!/_

The next half hour was dedicated to Harry chasing after a sulky Ice in the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry finally caught the snake, they returned to the main Chamber quickly and sat down to talk more.

_/Okay, like we were talking before you decided to sulk-/_

_/I do not sulk/_

_/You realize that I'm laughing at you?/_

_/…/_

_/WAIT! DON'T GO AWAY AGAIN!/_

_/Admit you're wrong about me sulking/_

_/Ice, can we just get back to the original topic?/_

_/Fine. Stupid boy/_

_/What was that?/_

_/Nothing, nothing. So, anyways, bonds. Basically what I'm saying is that you can gain more powers with your familiar as time goes on, or as you experience more with your familiar. You felt my pain because we have been together so much and I've been training you so much. With time, you'll be feeling many of my emotions and I yours. We'll learn how to control this though; so don't worry about feeling anger from me while your kissing your Weasley girl/_

_/WHAT?!/_

_/Never you mind. I know all/_

_/I DON'T LIKE HER LIKE THAT!/_

_/Just keep telling yourself that, maybe someday you'll believe it- hey! Don't you dare swing that sword at me! YOU STUPID BOY!/_

Satisfied that Ice was going to keep his comments to himself, Harry put down the Sword of Merlin. But there was another issue.

_/Ice, I want to know more about the Sword of Merlin/_

_/Fine, you stupid boy. Merlin created the Sword of Merlin. He created it because he had been challenged by someone to a duel with swords. Merlin knew that, at that time, his sword dueling skills weren't enough to win him this fight. He knew that he needed a good sword. He scoured the country for weeks looking for the perfect sword. _

_/He couldn't find it, and the date of the duel was slowly creeping up. He did the only thing he could think of; create one himself. He went into his special workshop and didn't emerge for days. He came out on the day of the duel, looking very tired but proud. His magical reserves were depleted, and he was suffering severe magical exhaustion, but he walked out onto the field where the duel was to be held with a confident stride. _

_/His challenger sneered at his ragged form. Merlin just smiled. The duel started. The challenger swung his sword forward, intent on knocking Merlin over and winning himself what he thought would be an easy duel. But Merlin parried his blow, and when the challenger's sword struck the Sword of Merlin his sword went right through it, taking off almost the entire sword from the hilt. _

_/Needless to say, that was one of Merlin's easiest duels, but yet one of his most hardest. After that no one underestimated him and he started to become a legend. The Staff of Merlin was created by accident, and no one knows for sure how the wand came to be. Merlin only smiled when asked/_

_/How did you know all of this?/_

_/Like I'd tell you/_

_/So… what happened to the Staff and Wand?/_

_/Weren't you listening when Dumbledore was telling you about it?/_

_/A little, but I missed that part. Or maybe I didn't, and just forgot/_

_/…/_

_/Don't look at me like that!/_

_/Ah, master, you are so stupid. The Staff and Wand are lost, and it's a miracle we even have the Sword. The Sword only accepts the strongest; as I'm sure you should know. The Sword should also call out to its brother's, the Staff and Wand. So if you feel a pull, it's most likely leading you towards its brothers/_

_/I haven't felt a pull/_

_/I thought so/_

Harry sighed, a bit exhausted from his conversation with Ice. Before long, he was meditating, and sinking into his mind.

Hogwarts appeared before him. Harry easily slid into it and walked down the corridors, scowling when a thought nearly knocked him over. He went to the potions classroom first. He stood there for a few moments before realizing that he had no clue as to how to get the memories in here.

But that answered itself. It seemed that memories were lining up outside the classroom. Harry sighed and looked out. There sure were a lot of them. Ice wasn't kidding when he said that this would take a while.

* * *

A week went by, and before they knew it Hermione and Ron had been released. Harry still wasn't quite speaking to Hermione, and Ron didn't know whose side to go to, making it awkward. Harry was also trying to avoid his mother too. It didn't work, as she was a teacher and always knew where he was because of the cameras. 

Tuesday they went down to Hagrid's class. Remus was there as the assistant, looking uncomfortable about something. Harry saw what it was instantly, Donna Umbridge was there.

Dolores Umbridge had never gotten around to checking out Hagrid's class because of everything that had been going on. It seemed that Donna not only got the Defense job, but also the High Inquisitor job too. Harry was instantly on guard.

He hadn't gotten around to telling his parents or anyone his suspicions, and by then it was too late. It was obvious that they weren't going to listen to them. He had seen Donna talking to his mother and Hermione yesterday about O.W.L.s and how important they were. That won them over. He saw her talking to James and Sirius about quidditch, with Ron listening in the background. That won them over. So far the only people that were really suspicious of her was Remus, Ginny, and Harry.

"Gotta real treat for yeh today," said Hagrid excitedly. Harry felt dread creep into his system as Hagrid began to lead them into the forest. Harry followed instantly, as did Remus, but the rest of them hung back a little. Donna hesitated a moment, before following, the rest of the class trailing after her.

Hagrid set down the dead cow he was carrying and turned to talk to them. He let out a couple of cries and went on talking to them. Harry saw them instantly. "Ah… thestrals…" said Harry in astonishment as one came out of the trees.

"Right yeh are, Harry! Thestrals!" said Hagrid gleefully. Almost all of the class looked confused. "Now, who can see them? Harry, of course… you too, Neville? Oh, and-,"

"You do realize that thestrals are classified in the ministry as 'dangerous'?" asked Donna suddenly.

"Well, that's only because of the death thing," said Hagrid quickly. Remus spun to face Donna.

"Relax, Professor Umbridge, we have everything under control. I'm sure that even if a thestral tried to attack it would have to go through both Hagrid and me before it could get to the students. They are perfectly safe," said Remus. Donna wasn't convinced.

* * *

"But you have to listen to me!" Harry said desperately. "Donna is a Death Eater!" 

"Harry, you just can't go around accusing everyone who crosses you a Death Eater," said James sternly.

"But-,"

"Harry, that's enough. Donna isn't a Death Eater. Just because she gave you a detention, doesn't mean that she's evil," said Sirius.

"This doesn't have to do with the detention!" shouted Harry. They were currently in Marauder's Quarters. Donna had given Harry a detention after he had insulted Draco Malfoy in Care of Magical Creatures. She had said that his insult was unwarranted, but Malfoy had been insulting Hagrid and Harry had just jumped to his defense.

Harry had finally gotten up the courage to tell his parents and friends his suspicions, but they were quick to deny it.

"Harry, you just don't like her because of her sister. Now, if you would kindly stop accusing her…" said Lily. Harry simply shook his head. They wouldn't see.

"Then we agree to disagree," said Harry coolly. Lily's eyes darkened.

"Harry, listen to us, she isn't a Death Eater!" she said, standing up from her position on the couch.

"You listen to me!" Harry was quickly losing his temper. By Lily's eyes, it was obvious she was close to losing hers also. Instead of prolonging the useless fight, Harry simply turned and left.

Harry stalked up to his dormitory and lay down in his bed, feeling very frustrated. Why wouldn't anyone listen to him? Why were they trusting Donna over him? Harry growled and pushed Ice off of his bed. Ice gave an angry hiss and reared up.

_/WHY IS EVERYONE INTENT ON PUSHING ME OFF OF BEDS?! I WAS HERE FIRST!/ _hissed the angry snake. Harry felt his anger, and was about to apologize, but Ice was already halfway out the door, hissing about exploring the castle some more.

Harry shrugged and knew that Ice would come back to him sometime and he would apologize then. But for now, he went to sleep.

* * *

The next day was the last D.A. meeting of the year before the holidays. They were just reviewing, and Harry swelled with pride when he watched all of the students. They were making incredible progress. 

Before long people were leaving the room. Harry was tidying the cushions and listening to Cho Chang trying to shoo her friend from the room.

"Are you alright?" Harry jumped when Ginny whispered into his ear. She looked concerned. Harry hadn't even realized that she was in the room. He had thought that she had already left.

Cho finally gave up when she saw Ginny talking to Harry and walked out of the room with an air of defeat around her.

"Thanks," said Harry. He hadn't felt like dealing with Cho. He was just too stressed out right now, now that he hadn't seen Ice either. He knew the snake would come back, but it was still stressing knowing that now he had another relationship he had to fix.

"No problem," she muttered as they finished up with the cushions. Harry smiled at her. She smiled back. Something in Harry's stomach flipped, and they both looked up at the same moment to see mistletoe above them. Harry blushed, but leaned forward…

* * *

Harry staggered back to the common room sometime later. He flopped into a chair near the fire where Ron was doing his homework and Hermione was writing a letter that resembled a novel. 

"What took you?" asked Ron. Harry opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, and then shut it. He wasn't sure what to say, and knew that they would find out sometime, but he just couldn't find the right words.

"Was it Cho?" asked Hermione as she sat up straighter. Ron also sat up. Harry shook his head. Hermione looked puzzled for a second. She leaned back for a moment, and then sprang up again. "Was it Ginny?" she asked. This really got Ron's attention.

"What? What about my sister?" he demanded. Harry's silence was all Hermione needed to know.

"Oh, I've been reading everything wrong!" she wailed. Harry gave her a startled look.

"What? What are you talking about? And I'm still not talking to you!" he said suddenly. In his shock, he had completely forgotten that he wasn't talking to Hermione. Hermione brushed it off.

"I thought you had a crush on Cho!" she exclaimed.

"I used to," said Harry, wondering where she was going with this. He had decided to ignore their fight for now.

"Oh… I get it now!" she said. Harry shook his head cluelessly.

"So, did you and Ginny kiss?" she asked. Harry fell out of his chair and Ron gave a shout.

_"WHAT?!"

* * *

_

That night Harry went to bed after convincing Ron he wasn't going to take advantage of his little sister. Something in his life was finally looking up. After he and Ginny had kissed, Harry had asked to the next Hogsmeade weekend. She had accepted. Harry had wondered about her current boyfriend, Michael Corner, but she had corrected him and told him that she had stopped dating him a couple weeks ago.

Harry blushed. This was going to be all over school tomorrow, especially with all the fuss Ron made. Harry's eyes dropped closed…

_His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone… he was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly… It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colors…He was turning his head… At first glance, the corridor was empty… but no… a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark…_

_Harry put out his tongue… He tasted the man's scent on the air… he was alive but drowsing… sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor…_

_Harry longer to bite the man… but he must master the impulse… he had more important work to do…_

_But the man was stirring… a silvery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt… He had no choice… he had reared from the floor… NO!_

_Harry resisted with every fiber of his being… he hissed in pain but held on…a couple more seconds… but something overpowered him and his fangs were sunk into the man…_

Harry woke up in a dead sweat. His roommates were shouting something, but Harry had no desire to listen. He untangled his legs from the blankets and jumped up. He ran from the room and down the stairs. Heads were poking out from dormitories, but Harry ignored their sleepy inquiries.

He ran straight to the Headmaster's office, uncaring if he was caught. He skidded to a halt in front of the Gargoyle, and began to guess sweet after sweet. He finally got it (he wasn't sure which one) and hurried up the stairs.

He burst into the office without knocking. Dumbledore was thankfully behind his desk and looked up when he came in.

"Harry, what is wrong?"

"Headmaster, there's been an attack!"

The next couple minutes were like blurs to him as he explained the situation and people were contacted. Before long they found themselves in Grimauld Place so they could be contacted.

Harry didn't know what would happen. He had left something out of his narrative…

He had felt poison being released out of the fangs. And it wasn't the kind of poison that stopped wounds from closing up or something.

It was the kind of poison that killed.

* * *

In her office, Donna raised her wine glass to her lips as she stared at the white snake, unconscious on the floor. She smiled. Oh… what would Harry Potter do when he found out his familiar was kidnapped?

* * *

A/N: CLIFFY! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I got over forty of them! That went way over my requirements! I was very pleased. I don't need to get thirty reviews this time, though I would like to. 

_**HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE**_: if I get over one hundred reviews then I'll update in a week instead of two. There are about two hundred people who have this story on their alert list, so if about half of you review, then you'll get the next update quickly. You'll have to get the one hundred reviews in before one week is up though... I promise that I will update on two weeks (unless you meet the challenge), even if I only get one review. So you don't have to worry about the thirty reviews thing.

This chapter was also very important! Make sure you read everything carefully in this chapter. I really hope that I made a few things clear, especially about the Sword of Merlin and the bond with Ice. Also, what about Ginny? Am I going too fast, too slow? I told you that there would be more romance between them by Christmas.

Happy holidays! I would have told you that last chapter, but I completely forgot. Sorry.

THIS STORY HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN UP FOR OVER A YEAR! If you checked the date, you would see that I've been writing this for over a year now. I'm glad to still be working on this. Thank you for staying with me!

REVIEW PLEASE!


	27. Chapter 27

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 27

* * *

**

Harry and the others sat at Grimauld Place, sipping butterbeer and feeling miserable. Harry felt even more miserable. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason he felt that he should have brought Ice along.

No matter what Harry thought, it was about Ice. He just couldn't get the snake out of his head! It wasn't a bad feeling, like he had gotten when Malfoy had his wand to Ice's head, but more a… bad feeling, just not bad. More like a funny feeling, saying that he needed to be with Ice.

That didn't really make Harry feel any better, the fact that Ice wasn't being harmed right now. Harry would know if he was in danger, of course, or being hurt, but if he had been kidnapped or something and the kidnapper didn't exactly want to harm him…

Then he would probably be getting this feeling. Which _really _didn't help.

Of course, Harry couldn't go back to Hogwarts. Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus were already here. They hadn't gotten much news, and the little they did receive was in no way reassuring. Harry's eyes strayed along the table.

Most of them (the Weasleys) were dozing, but Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus were having an intense discussion, and judging by the looks they were sending him he could correctly guess what they were talking about.

The feeling intensified. When it started to become unbearable (which is was), Harry got up and headed towards the fireplace. No one even noticed him headed towards it until he grabbed some floo powder. Remus was the first to notice.

"Harry, what are you doing?" he asked. Harry froze. He had just been about to throw the powder in, and his hand was halfway to the fireplace.

"I need to go to Hogwarts," Harry mumbled.

"Hogwarts? Why would you go back?" asked Lily, swiftly striding over to him and wrenching his hand open, spilling the floo powder all over the floor. Harry gaped at her.

"But I left Ice-,"

"Ice will be fine," she snapped. She grabbed his arm and began to pull him back to the table. "We need you here, Harry. Especially with your vision, and everything…"

"But Ice-,"

"Harry, Ice can take care of himself," said Lily. "We need your support here, and we might need details from your vision. There is more reason to stay here…"

Harry wrenched his arm from her grip. He could feel his temper rising. Harry thought that with Mr. Weasley being injured, they would call a temporary cease-fire with their arguments, but it would seem that that wouldn't happen.

Harry tuned his mother out and hurried back over to the fire. Only to find that that had been the last of the floo powder, and he wasn't about to sweep it up from the floor to get it. But, as the feeling heightened even more, that seemed like one of his best options.

And then Harry remembered something Ice had once told him.

_**/Anyway, even I don't know all of the properties of the bonding, but I do know that no wards or anything can keep us apart/**_

If that's true, then the Hogwarts wards should be nothing. Harry took a deep breath and thought hard about Ice. He thought about how he wanted, no, needed, to be with Ice.

And with a pop, he disapparated.

* * *

It was harder than he thought that it would be. It felt like he was being squeezed through a tube. He was also feeling a lot of resistance, like something was trying to hold him back. He supposed that would be the wards. 

Harry let out a harsh breath as he landed in a corridor. Instinctively, he knew that the apparation didn't go as planned. Instead of apparating by Ice he had apparated on the other side of the school.

Harry wasn't about to try apparating again, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He ran.

* * *

Grimauld Place was in panic. 

Okay, maybe that was an understatement. James grabbed Lily before she sprinted out the door. "Lily! Calm down!" he shouted over all of the noise. Lily didn't calm down. She just kept on panicking.

"He apparated! He _apparated!_ He probably splinched himself or did something worse than that!" she screeched. James resisted the temptation of covering his ears. The reactions of the others were similar. Hermione was panicked like Lily, Ron was in shock, Ginny was looking concerned and looked about ready to try to apparate too, Sirius was laughing his head off, Remus was trying to get Sirius to stop laughing, and the Weasley twins were just sitting there, blinking stupidly.

"Alright, alright, quiet!" bellowed James. When no one showed any signs of listening to him, he took desperate measures. "OY, IF YOU LOT DON'T SHUT UP RIGHT NOW, I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT YOU HAVE WORK TO DO OVER THE HOLIDAYS!" he roared. That shut up everyone up nicely, even if it was just from the shock.

"Now that we are all a little calm, we will go about this in a mature way. Ginny, Remus, you two stay here in case he comes back here. Weasley twins, you two can go to Potter Manor to see if he's gone there. The rest of us will go to Hogwarts. Come on!" he said. Sirius wasted no time in rummaging through a cabinet in the kitchen before he came out with spare floo powder. They wasted no time in grabbing some and yelling, "Hogwarts!"

They landed in McGonagall's office. She jumped up in alarm as they started flooing in. They raced ahead before they could explain it to her. Her shouts echoed throughout the corridors, but they ignored her. They left Hermione and Ron to deal with her.

"Where will he be?" asked Lily desperately.

"I don't know! Check everywhere!" snapped James. Sirius stopped running and rolled his eyes.

"You people are pathetic," he muttered. He snapped his fingers and yelled, "House elf!" With a crack, a house elf appeared. "Could you tell us where Harry Potter is?" asked Sirius.

"Of course, Sir. Mr. Harry Potter is headings to Professor Donna Umbridge's office, Sir," replied the house elf. Sirius nodded and dismissed the house elf. Lily and James had already started to run to Donna's office.

* * *

Harry's breaths came in harsh gasps, but he ignored them. He needed to get to Ice. He needed to get to Ice. He needed to get to Ice… 

So why did the search lead him to Donna Umbridge's office?

Harry had a suspicion. He grabbed the door handle, but before he could open the door Lily and James ran around the corridor, skidding to a halt when they saw him. Sirius came panting up behind them, muttering about obsessive parents who were too fast for their own good.

"HARRY!" shrieked Lily. She lunged at him, and enfolded him in a crushing hug. He found he couldn't even breathe.

"Mum… air…" Harry moaned. Lily untangled her arms from around him and looked at him sternly.

"Harry, what were you thinking, running away like that? And you came to Donna's office, too, and we all know that she's not a Death Eater, despite your claims! She wouldn't take Ice- Hey! Don't go in there!"

But it was too late. Harry had walked into her office, to find Donna with a glass of wine in her hand. When she saw him, she jumped up.

"Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" she asked. Harry glared at her coolly.

"You know what I want," he snarled.

"Harry! Be more polite!" scolded Lily as she slipped into the room behind him. James and Sirius came in as well.

"Not until she gives me Ice," said Harry. Donna's eyes lit up.

"Oh, you mean that snake? I found him unconscious in one of the hallways, the poor thing, and I decided to take him here in order to help you out. I wouldn't do for someone with hostile intent to take him now, would it?" she asked as she hurriedly gestured next to her chair. Harry lunged forward and grabbed Ice's limp body. He wasn't dead, just unconscious.

"So you just found him?" asked Lily.

"Of course! I just wanted to make sure that the snake was in safe hands, but when I heard that you had left for the holidays I realized that it would have to wait. I'm glad you came," she said.

Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He realized what she was doing. She was getting on his parent's good sides by returning the snake to him, when she was really the one who took him.

Harry stared at Donna for a few moments while Lily thanked her over and over again, and James smiled. Harry suddenly felt sickened. He turned around and walked out, ignoring Sirius's startled noise.

It only took a couple of moments before he realized that he really had nowhere to go. Harry shrugged and contented himself with walking around for the moment. He stroked Ice's prone body and found himself walking to the Chamber of Secrets.

He slid down the pipe and walked towards the main chamber. Harry sat down and began to think over the events of the past few days. Way too exciting. And then Harry felt something.

He jumped up, but the feeling was gone as soon as it had appeared. But there was no mistaking it.

He had felt a pull on Merlin's Sword.

* * *

"Where did he get off to?" said Lily in frustration. Donna smiled. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's just gone off for a little while to think. I believe that the last few days for him have been extremely tough," said Donna. Lily nodded.

"I think it would be best if we went back to… the house…" said James, trying to be as vague as possible around Donna.

He didn't notice her smile widen, and when she started swirling around more wine in her glass.

* * *

Ginny didn't know what to make of everything. One thing after another had happened. Ginny leaned back in her chair and contemplated all that was going on. 

Let's see, this all started with Harry going into the forest. No, it started with the quidditch match.

Okay, she definitely needed to sort her thoughts out. Remus, as if sensing her internal struggles, began to speak quietly.

"Your father will be okay. They got to him in time, so there's no worry there. And Harry can take care of himself. Remember all the stuff he's gone through? He'll get through this too,"

Ginny had known all this, but when it was said out loud it relaxed her and she found herself actually believing it. She leaned farther back in her chair and let Remus's words flow over her. Remus continued talking, about small things that didn't matter. She was thankful, for that was what she needed.

"…and Harry conjured a Patronus at thirteen, so there's no need to worry over power, especially seeing as he has five forms… I mean, you didn't hear that!" said Remus suddenly. Ginny snapped out of her daze.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I was talking about how much power he has, and how he's conjured a Patronus," said Remus quickly. Ginny sighed and leaned back further.

Things were getting complicated.

And then her chair landed his a bang on the floor as she leaned back too far. She jumped up with a blush and then a weird feeling came over her…

…_He isn't good for you, he's going to get you killed, you should stop getting so close to Harry Potter. The Dark Lord is after him; you should stay with people who are safer. Donna Umbridge can help you out…_

Ginny's breaths became ragged. It was just like when Tom Riddle's memory possessed her. It talked to her, suggesting things and before long she came to believe him. This voice, this thing was trying to split up her and Harry.

Except that it didn't know that she knew the feeling of being possessed. The voice disguised itself as something that felt like it belonged in her head, almost like a voice that told you what was right and wrong.

But she knew the difference.

Ginny's posture straightened.

Lily and James didn't know what it felt like to be possessed. Neither did Sirius, nor Remus. This voice was probably influencing their decisions, like Lily's sudden protectiveness, James's maturity, Sirius's laughter at things that became almost cruel, Hermione's fights, Ron's indecisiveness and insecurity, and the twin's lapse in pranking.

Now that she thought about it, the only people who weren't affected were Harry, who had Ice's Occlumency to shield himself from it, her, who had felt possession before, and Remus.

But why wasn't Remus affected?

"Remus, tell me now, quickly. Do you know Occlumency?" asked Ginny urgently. The voice was still going on in her mind.

…_He got your father almost killed; he got you wounded in the forest. Tell me, does that make a person a hero? No. Go to someone safe, someone who can protect you. Talk to Donna. Trust her. Talk to her. Trust her. Follow your instincts and trust her! Trust…_

"What? Why is this important?"

"Remus!" Ginny shrieked. "Tell me!"

"I'm a werewolf, it creates a natural shield around my mind that no one can possibly break through unless it's a very, very strong fellow werewolf into mind magics. That's very rare…"

"Remus! Something's trying to possess me! I think they already have the rest of them!"

"_**WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

Ginny never really acknowledged that Remus was a werewolf before because of his gentle nature, but with that exclamation she suddenly realized just how much of a wolf Remus was.

* * *

Harry was practicing his animagus forms. Well, not really. He was flying around the Chamber in his hawk form. Everything looked so different from up above. He saw things that he hadn't seen before, like side tunnels that were hidden in the darkened ceiling and he discovered steps leading down into the water by the statue. He hadn't noticed that before because of the basilisk's form covering a lot of the water, and when he disposed of the basilisk and hadn't gone near the water in fear of falling in and having unknown creatures attack him. 

But up above, he realized that there were indeed steps.

Unbeknownst to him, the Sword of Merlin gave a small pulse where he had left it on the ground.

Harry circled the Chamber one more time before landing and deciding to practice his other forms. Every time he turned into a hawk it would get easier, and before long he would be able to turn into it with barely a thought and no use of power. The other forms he still had to work on.

Harry had been surprised when he had mastered the hawk form first. He had thought for sure that he would have been able to master the lion first, as that was what he was exceeding at. But it turned out that he turned hawk first.

He just had to tell his parents now.

* * *

Donna smirked in sadistic satisfaction as Lily and James Potter talked to her. The fools, they didn't know who they were dealing with. Her smirk turned into a fake smile as they turned back to her, having stopped their conversation about the Potter brat. 

"Oh, how rude of me! Would you like any wine?" Donna asked sweetly. James and Lily both declined.

Suddenly, Donna realized that Sirius Black seemed to have disappeared.

"Oh, where did Mr. Black go?" Donna asked. Lily smiled.

"Oh, he went to tell everyone that everything's fine, and that Harry didn't splinch himself, the foolish boy…" said Lily. James frowned at her.

"Now, Lily, don't talk about Harry like that…"

Donna tuned them out. She already knew that she had their support.

But it wasn't like they really had a choice.

She swirled her wine around in her glass. Wine was so much like blood…

She loved wine. She lifted her glass to her lips while she watched Lily and James argue. She enjoyed watching their argument escalate, and before long Lily stormed out. James followed her after giving Donna a hasty apology.

Donna waved and smirked. She was suddenly overtaken by a memory…

_**-Flashback-**_

"_Donna, honey, we have to get out of here. This isn't what we wanted!" said Donald. Donna stared up at Donald. _

"_But Donald, we have a great life now…"_

"_No we don't. You know we don't. It's hell."_

"_Please Donald, we've built up so much! Don't destroy it all because you're scared!" _

"_Donna, I know you're scared too. You can't lie. I see it in your eyes. You don't know what to do anymore. This isn't just about Voldemort, and stop flinching at his name!" snapped Donald. _

"_But Donald…"_

"_You're still young, Donna. You could get a nice job someday…"_

"_You could too! You're still young also!" protested Donna. _

"_I know, but still…"_

_Donna suddenly found that Donald was saying more, but it was so fuzzy and the words came in jumbled up and mixed…_

"_Leave…"_

"_No more…"_

"_Your life is…"_

"_Do you agree?"_

_One word stood out clearly. _

"_BELLATRIX!"_

_**-End Flashback-**_

Donna shook her head. What was that? She didn't remember that… where had it come from? She shook her head again and took another sip of wine, mulling over this new memory.

What had it been about again? She couldn't remember…

A couple of minutes later she had forgotten completely about it, except for a vague sense of unease.

* * *

He gritted his teeth and held his broken arm to his starved form. "How does it feel?" came the mocking voice of Lanish from the doorway. 

"It feels great. Never felt better," snarled the man.

"Really? Well, I'll just have to fix that, won't I?" came the response. Before Lanish could act on his words, however, a wail filled the room.

"Ohhh… someone's broken in…" taunted the man. Lanish threw a sneer over his shoulder as he hurried out of the room. The man slid down the wall and fell into blissful darkness. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on for.

* * *

Lanish sneered when he saw the form of Bellatrix Lestrange in one of his rooms. 

"What the hell are you doing here, you stupid-,"

"That's mean," pouted Bella. Lanish made a rude gesture at her. A smirk blossomed on Bella's face.

"So, how is our prisoner?"

"You mean, my prisoner?" snapped Lanish. Bella's smirk grew wider.

"Whatever. It's all the same in the end," she laughed.

"You are insane,"

"Ha! Now, if we're done con… contenting my mental capabilities, can we get back to the subject?"

"You mean contemplating?"

"What?"

"Do. You. Mean. Contemplating. Instead. Of. _Contenting?_" asked Lanish. A blush formed on Bella's face.

"It doesn't matter what I mean! Is the plan proceeding?"

"Not one bit. He won't break and keeps trying to get away,"

"That's cause you can't do anything right. Give him to me and I'll do it properly."

"You'll screw it up somehow, so no. There's a reason you don't get important missions," muttered Lanish. Her face darkened.

"What did you just say?" she asked harshly, her eyes narrowing.

Lanish simply laughed.

Bella glared.

Far away, Ginny and Remus panicked.

Harry paced, thinking about ways to talk to his parents.

Ron and Hermione sat at Minerva McGonagall's office, completely forgotten, while they explained to her what happened.

Lily and James were both raving mad at each other, having a loud shouting match.

Sirius informed the twins what happened.

The twins both wore calculating expressions as more was revealed about Harry.

Mr. Weasley lay in a hospital bed, with his wife fussing over him.

Donna Umbridge drank more wine.

Albus Dumbledore was trying, very immaturely, to unstick two lemon drops.

Ice twitched, before laying still.

The Sword of Merlin pulsed once more, before settling down.

And, deep, deep, deep, deep under Hogwarts, farther than the Chamber of Secrets, the lake, the plumbing, everything, a great something snorted in its sleep.

* * *

A/N: This chapter… is so very short… I'm sorry, but I ended up leaving it to the last moment to do it. I have valid excuses, though! 

First, I took one week off in order to get some much needed rest. I would have written the chapter in that week, seeing as I was quite inspired, but then I realized that alerts were down and you guys most likely wouldn't meet the challenge. And you didn't. Second, I would have written on a weekend, but my sister took the computer most of the time and I was trying to get through all of my emails. Three, school started up and I was a bit busy.

So, you get a short chapter. But this chapter is very eventful, and it turns out that this will be a crucial part in the story. Especially the end. READ THE ENTIRE CHAPTER CAREFULLY! In fact, these last few chapters have all been important. Read them all carefully.

I've gotten complaints about me "demanding reviews". I sorry if it makes anyone mad that I was asking for reviews, and I apologize. I just wanted to see if you guys to meet the challenge (I ended up getting around fifty). I won't ask for anymore. But I would like it if you reviewed anyways!

**_NOTE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD READ:_** I've decided that I want to know who everyone's favorite character in my story is. So we're doing a poll on which character is the most popular among the people reading this story. You can drop a reveiw, PM me, email me, whatever. You can vote once on which character you like best. Then I'll post up the results next chapter. Whichever character wins gets a side story. I'll write it out, and you should get it in a month or two. 5,000 words dedicated to just that character. I might make it dedicated to the first and second place winners. It depends on what you voters want.

There was more I wanted to put in here, I just can't remember it…

Review please!


	28. Chapter 28

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 28

* * *

**

Remus wasted no time in apparating out of Grimmauld Place, dragging Ginny with him. They instantly appeared in Hogsmeade, as they couldn't go straight into the castle. Ginny staggered next to him, unused to apparating. Remus held her steady, and when she regained her balance they both began to hurriedly walk up to the castle.

When they finally arrived there, they nearly ran up the steps and into the entrance hall. They could hear breakfast going on (was it already morning?) and they ran past it, nearly running into Draco Malfoy by the stairs.

"Watch where you're going-," Malfoy started, only to find himself talking to air. They had already moved on, running up the stairs and down corridors, dodging around students who barely noticed them, as they were going that fast.

They went past corridor after corridor, classroom after classroom, and they didn't stop.

Remus didn't question that fact that Ginny was doing a very good job keeping up with him, either.

* * *

Lily had had enough of this. Her and James had been fighting for a while now, and Lily was tired of shouting. James just wouldn't see that she was right. That she was always right.

She spun around, intending to leave the room, but was surprised when Remus and Ginny burst in. Remus looked very angry, and Ginny just looked out of breath. Lily opened her mouth to comment, but they beat her to it.

"You're being controlled!" shouted Ginny. Lily's mouth shut with a snap.

"What?" asked James, rapidly making his way towards Ginny.

"You're being controlled. I should know," she panted out. Lily gave a small laugh, completely brushing off the girl's concern.

"Oh, Ginny, you're being delusional. I'm sure that this whole thing with your father is just stirring up some bad memories," said Lily. Ginny glared.

"Excuse me?" she asked, danger sounding in every syllable of the sentence. "I _know _about being possessed, about how a voice whispers in your ear…" Lily refused to take her concerns in regard, though, and gave another laugh.

"Ginny, I'm sorry, but there is no voice in my head. I'm perfectly sane," she said, giving a bright smile.

"Oh, and I'm not?" asked Ginny hotly. There was anger beneath her gaze, cold and forceful, ready to be used. Just a couple more pushes from the stubborn witch would send Ginny over the edge, stress from all that had happened that night would make her vent, and not in a good way. Lily didn't know this. Lily refused to see this.

"Now, Ginny, dear, stop being so paranoid," laughed Lily. James was frowning next to her, thinking about Ginny's claims. Lily gave him a sharp look, wondering why he was considering Ginny's theory when it was so obviously wrong.

Lily shook her head, trying to clear it. A soft, soothing voice sounding in her head, calming her down and helping her think rationally.

_… Ginny is just unhappy that you're disagreeing with her. The stress from the night was obviously taken its toll, it looks like she's about to fall asleep standing…_

"I'm not paranoid," Ginny growled out, red in the face. Lily smiled, deciding to humor Ginny for the moment.

"Okay, okay," she said, lifting up her hands in a soothing manner. Ginny seemed to realize that Lily wasn't about to believe her, if the way her eyes were flashing were any hint.

"Dammit, Lily, just believe her!" yelled Remus. Lily gave a start. She had forgotten Remus was there.

"Remus, you should know as well as I do that there is no way we are possessed!" cried Lily in exasperation. Why wouldn't anyone listen to sense?

"Lily, why don't we just listen to them?" asked James cautiously. Lily spun around to glare at him.

"Don't tell me that you think we're all possessed too!" she shouted.

"Lily, I'm just asking you to listen! That doesn't mean I believe them!" yelled James. Lily could feel her face heating up in anger. It looks like they would be yelling some more tonight.

"Listen, can we just discuss this somewhere more private?" asked Remus. Lily huffed, but went along with Remus. "Good. Now, we should floo to either Grimmauld Place or Potter Manor," he said.

"Potter Manor. I don't feel like going to that house right now," said Lily irritably. Remus nodded.

"Potter Manor it is then. Come on," said Remus. He gestured for them to floo out of the Marauder's Quarters. Lily felt faintly disturbed that she hadn't even realized that they were in the Quarters.

"Well?" asked James. Lily shook her head to find everyone staring at her, waiting for her to go. She blushed and took a pinch of floo powder. She threw it in the fire and stepped into the flames.

"Potter Manor!" she yelled, before she disappeared in a whirlwind of flames.

The fire spit her out on the other end of the fireplace, into Potter Manor. She got out of the way of James, who came through next. She sighed and placed a hand on her head while James called the house elves to go get their things from Hogwarts.

It was then that Lily noticed that for some reason, her head felt strangely… empty.

"James!" Lily said sharply.

"Yeah, Lily?" asked James, smiling crookedly. The mature expression that he had on his face for a while had melted away, leaving him with a boyish look.

"Oh… James…" moaned Lily as Ginny came through, followed by Remus.

"What's wrong, Lily?" asked Remus. Ginny sighed in relief.

"Ah… the voice is gone…" she said. Lily looked even more depressed.

"James… someone was controlling us. Tell me, are there wards around the Manor that can stop people from attacking our minds?" asked Lily urgently.

"Well, I can't stop them from attacking our minds if they were inside the Manor, but if they're outside the wards then they can't… touch… us…." said James, realization dawning on his face.

"So that means that we were being controlled the whole time!" exploded Lily as she threw her hands and began to pace around angrily.

"We thought sometime was wrong when we first came here," came two simultaneous voices from the shadows. James whirled around, his wand out, only to come face to face with the twins. They were both grinning.

"What are you doing here?" gasped Lily, clutching her chest from the scare she had just gotten.

"Well, you did kind of put us-,"

"Here in case Harry came here-,"

"Which he didn't,"

Lily felt slightly sick as she watched the twins finishing each other's sentences. She doubted she would ever get over how much they looked and acted a like. She gulped and then, after a moment's pause, sighed.

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Lily. There was silence for a few more moments before Ginny broke it.

"Ice!" she shouted happily. Everyone turned to stare at her like she was crazy.

"You think putting ice on our heads will protect us from mind invasion? Ice is for headaches, Ginny, not protection," said Remus. Ginny shook her head.

"No, not 'ice' as in frozen water, but 'Ice' as in Harry's snake! He knows Occlumency, and if we get him to teach it to us then we'll be fine!" said Ginny triumphantly.

"A couple things wrong with that, Ginny. First off, how does a _snake _know Occlumency?" asked James. Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but James kept going. "Second, how is a _snake _going to teach us when we can't understand a… hiss… he says?" Ginny interrupted before he got any further.

"Ice knows Occlumency because… I don't know, he just does. But he helps Harry all the time by protecting his mind! And Harry can translate for us. You see, Harry was already teaching me some Occlumency, and I think that's one of the reasons that I identified the voice so fast!" she said.

"But Ginny, it will take us so long to master it," pointed out Lily.

"Not if we try hard," said Ginny.

"But we don't have much time," said one of the twins.

"Make time," said Ginny, starting to frown at them. "Look, it's the best thing we got! So we might as well try, and since we all know now that there's someone trying to control us then all we need to do is make sure to not follow that voice!"

"Easier said then done," said James darkly.

"Well, James, you have to realize that it's the best thing to do at this point," said Remus. "Occlumency will not only protect out minds from that voice, but also from other invasions. No matter what it's a benefit,"

"But it takes so long to master!" said James, throwing his hands in the air.

"It's the only thing we have right now," said Remus.

"Fine. We'll do it," said Lily, quickly interrupted James before he could say anything else. James glared, but nodded reluctantly. The twins looked completely fine with the decision, nodding their heads at the same time.

"So… what now?" asked James.

"First off we need to get Hermione, Ron, and the others here so they can protect themselves," started Lily. "Then we need to fix things with Harry so we aren't at each other's throats the entire holiday. Then we need to see about Arthur," she said.

"I agree with Lily," said Ginny quickly. She could feel guilt at forgetting her father so quickly. Lily nodded and headed towards the fireplace, but Remus stopped her.

"I think either me or Ginny will go. After all, we can withstand the influence of the voice better than both of you," he said. Lily nodded sheepishly.

"But we don't know where Harry is," said James suddenly.

"Not a problem. Remus will inform everyone else, while I get Harry, because I think I know where he is," said Ginny cheerfully. Or as cheerfully as she could at the moment. She didn't give them time to respond before grabbing a handful of floo powder and throwing it into the flames, shouting, "Hogwarts!"

* * *

Ginny was able to land on her feet as she exited the fireplace of McGonagall's office. She hurried away from there, ignoring the startled shrieks of Hermione and the shouts of Ron. Both apparently, were still explaining things to the Transfiguration Professor.

Ginny hurried down to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and found, to her relief, the sink to be open. Harry had to have been careless this time. She jumped into the pipe and slid down it, glad that Harry had cleaned it. She didn't feel like getting slime on her at the moment.

She fell ungracefully out of the pipe and she quickly straightened up embarrassedly, hoping that Harry hadn't seen it. She didn't want to make a fool of herself, even though Harry was more understanding than anyone else. Sometimes.

She walked at a fast pace towards the main Chamber, passing through the tunnels quickly. When she finally arrived in the main Chamber, she found an unconscious Ice and the Sword of Merlin, but no Harry.

"Harry?" she called out cautiously. No answer. She shifted uncomfortably and walked forward. "Harry?" she tried again.

There was suddenly a screech above her and she ducked just in time to miss the hawk flying at her. She recognized it immediately.

"Harry! You… you…" she stammered, so angered that she could barely get out a coherent sentence. The hawk gave what could be described as a laugh before landing and transforming back.

"Yes?" he asked mildly as Ginny boiled with anger.

"You are so horrible!" she stomped her foot on the ground in order to get across her point. Harry just laughed again.

"So what did you come here for?" he asked.

"Occlumency," replied Ginny promptly.

"Excuse me?" asked Harry, confusion spreading across his face.

"We were all, the exceptions being you, me, and Remus, being controlled," started Ginny. "We need you, or more like Ice, to teach us Occlumency. Not now, of course, but we need to know it in order to stop being controlled,"

"What?" Harry gaped at her. Ginny smiled. It was pretty unbelievable, now that she thought about it.

"Well, yeah. Why else do you think everyone's acting so strange?" asked Ginny. "Come on Harry, me being out of Potter Manor has really increased the voice's persuasion skills and I don't want to do anything stupid," She began to pull Harry along, regardless of whether or not he had everything.

"Ginny! I need Ice and the Sword of Merlin!" said Harry, easily pulling out of her grip and turning around to retrieve the snake and sword. Ginny rolled her eyes, then mentally winced. As much as she wanted to get out of the voice's control, she knew that it was subtly affecting her behavior.

Her theory was that the voice (whatever it was) was subtly influencing their decisions. The voice had taken them over one by one, from what she could tell, or else she would have noticed it sooner.

"Come on, Gin," said Harry as he grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. Ginny gave an indignant shriek and began to pound on his back.

"Harry James Potter! Let me down this instant!" she yelled. Harry simply laughed and adjusted her so the positions were more comfortable. Ginny began to mutter threats under her breath about what she would do when he put her down. This got another laugh from Harry.

"You aren't taking me seriously at all, are you?" snapped Ginny.

"Nope, seeing as you aren't Sirius," said Harry cheekily. Ginny gave a small growl and began to double her efforts to get down, which only caused Harry to hold her tighter. She finally stopped squirming around and settled for crossing her arms and refusing to talk to Harry.

"Here we are," said Harry, before carefully setting her down and catching her fist before it connected with his skull. "That's not nice," he scolded playfully. Ginny scowled at him.

"You know, you really shouldn't be so cheerful, with all that's happened tonight," she muttered, turned her back on him. She heard him sigh, and sneaked a peek over her shoulder at him.

"I know," he said somberly. "But isn't being cheerful in situations like this better than worrying yourself over something that can't be helped?"

"Harry," said Ginny slowly, "when did you become so wise?"

"Ah, after living with an annoying snake for so long, you begin to pick up on some concepts," said Harry, the cheerfulness returning to his voice. Ginny couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"Where are they?" muttered Lily for what seemed to be the thousandth time in the past half hour.

"Lily, relax," soothed James. "It's not like they're going to die or anything,"

"How do you know?!" wailed Lily, her frustration beginning to show as she turned around and stomped towards James, who bravely (and foolishly) stood his ground.

"Because, Lily, all Ginny did was go get Harry. They aren't going on a suicide mission," said James. They were all gathered in one of the bigger rooms, designed as, oddly enough, the Hufflepuff common room. When asked about it, James would only shrug and reply, "Well, not all of our family was Gryffindor."

"But James, for all we know they could be!" said Lily, starting to poke James in the chest.

"Relax, Flower, it's only December," said Sirius, unconcernedly flipping through a magazine.

"What does the month have to do with anything?" asked Lily.

"Simple," started James, "Harry only goes on suicide missions during June. The rest are only _slightly _suicidal."

"That doesn't make me feel better!" shouted Lily.

"It should. It means he's in less danger," said James cheerfully, grabbing the magazine out of Sirius' hands.

"Hey! I was reading that!" he shouted indignantly.

"You took your hands off it, Padfoot, so it's up for grabs," said James.

"I only took my hands off of it because you ripped it out of my hands!"

"Are we interrupting something important?" came a voice from the doorway. Everyone whipped around to find an amused Harry and Ginny standing in the doorway.

"No, not at all, come in," said James enthusiastically. Sirius grumbled quietly to himself, plotting some pranks he could pull on James to get back at him.

"Harry! Are you alright?" asked Lily desperately.

"I'm fine," said Harry with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry! That voice thing must have made me stun you!" said Lily, hugging Harry to herself.

"I have a theory about that, actually," called Ginny, interrupting the moment.

"What? What is it?" asked James eagerly.

"Well, this voice is pretty smart. It obviously influenced us one at a time, slowly, in order to get our trust. I think, truthfully, Ron was the first to get it," said Ginny. Ron, who had been saved from McGonagall, protested loudly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, think about it, Ron. You were showing some signs of insecurity before the fight, however subtle they were. Hermione was next after that, then Lily. Sirius was after Lily, and after Sirius came James. I just heard the voice in my head. I can't figure out where the twins quite fit in this, though," she admitted.

"Well, we kind of just-,"

"Lost our will to pull-,"

"Pranks after a while-,"

"Somewhere in the middle of all that-,"

"And now, since we're so prank-,"

"Deprived, we decided to-,"

"Finish each other's sentences," they finished together proudly. Harry rolled his eyes while Lily looked disturbed. James and Sirius simply looked impressed.

"Okay. Well. Since we got that out of the way…" said Lily, turning to Harry. "Do you think Ice can teach us Occlumency?"

"Most likely, but he hasn't woken up yet," said Harry, worry coloring his voice as he showed him the unconscious body of the snake.

"He'll be fine," said Sirius optimistically. "I'm sure he was just hit with a minor hex, and he should awaken sometime soon."

"A minor hex wouldn't have knocked Ice out," said Harry darkly. Everyone was silent for a few moments.

"Okay, then, who did it?" asked Lily.

"I would think that's obvious," said Harry. "Donna Umbridge."

"It's a possibility," said James, scratching his chin. He suddenly stopped, wincing. "Darn, I really need to shave…"

"James! Focus!" snapped Lily. "Honestly, half the time I even wonder why I married you. Don't answer that," she added as James opened his mouth to speak. He looked wounded.

"Why, Lily Flower, everyone knows that it's because you couldn't resist my dashing good looks and great humor…"

"I said don't answer that!" said Lily. She looked at Harry thoughtfully. "Okay, Harry, why don't you teach us what you already know about Occlumency?"

"Not now," said Harry impatiently. "Look, it's morning already! We should probably go see Mr. Weasley,"

"You're right!" said Lily guiltily. "I forgot about him. I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, Lily. There was quite a lot that happened tonight," said James. "Including my son getting a date."

"How did you know about that?" asked Harry, looking at James like he was crazy.

"Rumors fly fast at Hogwarts," said James cheerfully.

"Okay, now that we have successfully strayed off the original topic," said Lily, sounding a lot like McGonagall, "we should probably go see about Mr. Weasley."

"That means that we should probably head back to Grimmauld Place to see if there's any news," said Sirius, jumping up from the couch and heading out of the room.

"Wait, Paddy, there's a fireplace in here!" called James. They could hear Sirius muttering about he knew that and he was just testing their observation skills.

* * *

"So he's going to be fine?" asked Ginny in relief. "That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

They were all, currently, in Mr. Weasley's hospital room. Mr. Weasley was going on about muggle technology while Ginny was talking to the healer. Remus had wondered off to the werewolf on the other side of the room, and Harry had gone to see if a healer could do anything about Ice.

Ginny grabbed a random person (it turned out to be James) and began to dance around the room with him. That showed how happy she was. She really was worried about her father; she just hadn't had much time tonight to address her worries. She had on the way here, though, and it drove her crazy thinking about whether her father would be all right or not.

Ginny laughed as James began to get into the dance, and they both began to exaggerate their movements to the point where it was comical. Everyone was laughing, until a healer stuck his head in the room to shush them.

Harry came in, took one look at them, and walked back out, muttering about finding the tearoom. Unfortunately, at that moment, Molly, who had been the only one listening to Arthur ramble on about muggles, found out that he had tried muggle methods to heal his cuts. The group hurried out of there, and before long it was just Ginny, Ron, and Hermione walking up to the tearoom.

"Think Harry has already found it?" asked Ginny. This question was quickly answered when they came across Harry talking to a healer. Harry looked super worried.

"Harry? What's wrong?" asked Ginny in concern as she came forward and put a hand on his arm.

"Ginny. They don't think that Ice will ever wake up."

* * *

Donna sipped her wine, contemplating what had happened. They had gone behind some wards, so she couldn't manipulate them while they were there. She had a feeling that they had realized what was happening, and she knew that Harry Potter would draw the right conclusions.

She sighed. She blinked as an owl came in from the window and landed in front of her. It was a Ministry owl. She grabbed the letter from it and sighed when she realized it was from that fool of a Minister.

She read through the letter and found it was full of nonsense. It kept spewing on and on about the same things that all of the letters from the Minister said.

_Donna,_

_I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been able to contact you lately, but we've had our hands full of the Dolores Umbridge case. Her trial is set to start soon, and we would appreciate it if you would come. _

_On another note, how is everything at Hogwarts doing? Is that Headmaster still going on about You-Know-Who being back? I can't believe that he would fall for the attention seeking brat's lies. I would like a full report of the events at Hogwarts. _

_Cornelius_

Donna grabbed some parchment and quills and began to write out a letter to the Minister. She hated contacting him, but it was what her Master desired. She was one of his most valued servants.

She sealed the letter and sent it along with the Ministry owl. She sat back after that and began to think about what was going on around here.

She had just raised her wine glass to her lips again when she was overcome with a memory.

_**-Flashback-**_

_"Donna, you have to listen to me. This isn't safe. I just heard Bella talking the other day, and-,"_

_"That's enough, Donald! We can't be bad servants to the Dark Lord," said Donna, swiftly cutting Donald off._

_"But Donna, we already discussed this-," _

_"Donald, please, don't-," _

_And then the memory started scrambling again._

_"Donna? Donna? Are you okay?" _

_"No… you can't do this! Please-," _

_"Oh no, this isn't good-," _

_And again, one word stood out in her mind._

_"BELLATRIX!"_

_**-End Flashback-**_

Donna shook her head. What was that? She shook her head again. She couldn't quite remember…

Donna sighed and took another sip of her wine. It didn't matter, that memory obviously wasn't important if she had only just remembered it… what memory?

It was then that Donna realized that something wasn't quite right.

But she brushed it off.

* * *

A/N: Well, another chapter done. First thing that I need to address is the result of the poll. Here are the results:

**Ice: 17 **

**Harry: 6 **

**Ginny: 5 **

**Remus: 4 **

**Sirius: 2 **

**Lily: 1**

**James: 1**

**Donald: 1**

Ice won. He really beat everyone else. So, since that's the results, my side story about Ice should come out in about a month or two. So look out for **_An Icy Capture_**. I can't promise it'll come out soon… it will come out in less than two months, though.

On another note, I just wanted to thank all the people who voted. I'm sure some people didn't know about it (a lot of people don't read the A/Ns) but it was nice to find out who liked what character.

Review!


	29. Chapter 29

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 29

* * *

**

Ginny felt as if a bucket of cold water was dumped over her with Harry's words. "What?" she breathed as she stared at him in shock.

"They think that Ice will never wake up. Apparently, Umbridge hit him with a curse that uses your own magic against you. It takes your magical powers out of your control for just a moment, and turns it against you. It isn't affective against weaker people, and you have to be very strong to cast it. But Ice has magical reserves that are amazing, and Donna has to be strong.

"When the magic turns against you, it puts you into what could be called a 'magical coma'. There's an eighty-five percent chance that he won't come out of it, and if he does it'll be years," said Harry.

"But… can't he come out of it in a few days?" asked Ginny hopefully. Her hopes were dashed, however, when Harry shook his head sadly.

"I wish it was that easy, Ginny, but it's not. The magical coma won't allow Ice to come out of it. When he starts to twitch, that's a sign that he's struggling to come out of it. But even that stage comes after many months. After he starts twitching, then it should be a couple weeks at most,"

"But… he hasn't twitched yet?" asked Ginny. Harry ran his hand tiredly over his face.

"If he did, I can't remember. Too much has happened tonight…" muttered Harry. Ginny nodded. Too much had happened. And that voice was nagging at her, since she wasn't at Potter Manor.

"Let's talk about something else," said Ginny desperately. "Why don't we go find the tearoom?"

"Yeah," added Ron. Ginny jumped. Ron had been forgotten about along with Hermione. They were both standing there, slightly awkward. Ginny sighed and motioned for them to set off. They went off to find said room. As they walked up the stairs, various portraits diagnosed them with different diseases.

One of the funniest ones was when a Healer started shouting at Ron about his freckles. Another funny one was when a Healer started listing off treatments for "The Messy Hair Disorder".

"You see, sir, you have what is called Messy Hair Disorder. The only way to cure it is to have a large piece of spinach tied to your forehead during the entire month of Flagmore…"

"What? There isn't a month called Flagmore!" said Harry.

"Look! See! The Messy Hair Disorder is messing affecting your mind! Of course there is a month such as Flagmore!"

Ginny was desperately trying to stifle her giggles. Ron was coughing, trying to cover up his laughter, while Hermione wore a peculiar expression on her face.

"There is no such month-," Harry started, but the Healer cut him off.

"Of course not, sir," he said soothingly. "How about this? You have to tie a piece of spinach to your forehead during the month of Kililillililililililo. Surely you've heard of that one?"

By this time, everyone was questioning the portrait's sanity. He looked fine, but his months…

"Come on," said Harry uncomfortably as he hurried away from the Healer portrait, which was still calling out after him. "Don't ever mention that to my dad. I'd never live it down."

"Where are we, anyway?" questioned Ron.

"Not sure…" muttered Harry. Unfortunately, they spotted the person that no one wants to see.

"Professor Lockhart?" questioned Hermione as they saw the man scurrying down the hallway. The man stopped and turned around, and sure enough it was their old Professor. "Professor Lockhart, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, do I know you?" he asked, cocking his head to the side curiously. Ron was moaning that they should leave, and Harry was all for it. Hermione wasn't.

"Are you sure you should be wandering around the halls?" she asked, stepping forward in concern. Ron glowered at Hermione.

"Gilderoy? Where did you go?" came a motherly voice from a doorway a few steps away. A Healer was sticking her head out of the door, looking straight at them. "Oh, are you visiting him? That's good. Come in, come in," she said, pushing them inside. "It's so nice to see him getting visitors. He barely ever gets any, though he does get a fair amount of fan mail."

"Uh… we were just heading to the tearoom…" said Ron, but the Healer didn't seem to hear him as she ushered them into chairs.

"I was just getting the presents for the patients," she said, and before Ron could do anything she left, leaving behind a flustered Ron.

"Do you want my autograph?" asked Lockhart enthusiastically. They didn't get a chance to answer, as he was already signing some pictures. Harry, having enough of this, got up and began to wander around.

He saw an area that was curtained off, and knew better than to go there. Instead, he went to see some of the other patients. He saw one man who was sitting, muttering to himself. Another person's head was completely covered in fur. Harry quickly decided it would probably be best not to talk to them.

The Healer came bustling back in, holding several gifts. She began to hand them out, talking happily to the patients as she did so. She put an ugly, potted plant by the bedside of the man who was mumbling to himself.

Harry saw Neville come out of the curtains, with a woman that could only be his grandmother. He realized that the Healer was about to call out to them, so he hurried over and made a quick shushing sound at her. She fell silent, obviously confused, and resumed handing out gifts with a quizzical expression on her face. Harry ran over to Neville.

"Hey, Neville," he muttered. The others were still preoccupied with Lockhart. Neville looked embarrassed.

"Oh… hi Harry," he said unhappily.

"A friend of yours, Neville?" asked Mrs. Longbottom.

"Of course," said Harry as if any other way was completely unheard of. "I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you Madam Longbottom," he said, giving her a small bow. She looked down approvingly at him.

"Yes, I've heard about you," she said. "You've helped Neville out a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes, but he does a lot by himself," he said modestly. "After all, in our defense group Neville is one of the best. He always is one of the first people to pick up the spell, and he's disarmed me many times."

"Really?" said Mrs. Longbottom, giving Neville a praising eye. "Well, he certainly didn't tell me about that."

"I doubt he would. After all, he's very modest about his abilities," said Harry. Neville had a flush going over his face.

"Just like my son, Frank," said Mrs. Longbottom proudly. Neville seemed to swell with pride. Harry had a feeling that this didn't happen very often for him.

"Yes, well, Neville does seem to have a small problem with confidence. I'm not sure why, but he seems to think that he can't do stuff that we can. It's really holding him back from succeeding where others can't," admitted Harry. Mrs. Longbottom blinked, seeming to consider this.

"Well…" she said, for the first time sounding unsure.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it can be fixed," said Harry. He glanced over at his friends. They hadn't even realized he had left yet. What could be so interesting about Lockhart that would keep them this occupied?

"Yes. Yes, it will be fixed," said Mrs. Longbottom, her back straightening in determination.

"Um…" said Neville for the first time, drawing the attention back to him. At that moment, though, a woman from behind the curtains wandered over. Harry instantly deduced that this was Alice Longbottom. Alice put a gum wrapper in Neville's hand.

"Another one?" asked Mrs. Longbottom in exasperation. "Thank you, Alice," she said, and Alice wandered back to the bed. "Throw that in the trash, Neville."

"Why would he want to do that?" asked Harry quizzically. "If I was in Neville's situation, I would cherish every single thing given to me by my parents. After all, I never would be able to really know them, so wouldn't these kind of things be precious?"

Mrs. Longbottom seemed to consider this for a moment. She cocked her head to the side. "I do supposed you make a valid point," she said. "Very well, Neville, you may keep it if you wish." Neville looked very happy at this.

"Thank you," he said gratefully as he slid the wrapper into his pocket. Mrs. Longbottom glanced over where Harry's other friends still sat.

"Why don't you introduce me to the others?" she asked. Harry panicked for a moment, before gathering himself.

"No," he said firmly. "They don't know about Neville's parents, therefore wouldn't understand why you would be here."

"What? You should be proud of your parents, Neville, not hiding them!" she said harshly.

"Oh no, I'm not implying that he's not proud of them," said Harry quickly, stopping her from her rant. "In fact, I've never seen a man so proud of their parents before. He often goes on and on about how great they are, when we're alone. You see, the others just wouldn't quite understand. They would treat Neville differently, most likely, and Neville just wants to be treated normally. Also, his parents are still a sore subject for him. After all, it must be hard to see them like this. So, while he's proud of them and talks to me about them, it's hard to approach the others about things like this."

Mrs. Longbottom seemed to accept this. "Well, Neville, I never knew this side of you. I like it," she said approvingly. "You must tell me about this defense club."

"Oh, Neville has done a lot of stuff," chipped in Harry. "Why don't you tell her about your Impediment Jinx, Neville? It was amazing how well you were able to perform it."

Neville's face was very red by this point. Mrs. Longbottom was looking at Neville completely differently then when Harry first saw them. Instead of the disapproval that was first in her gaze, now they held some respect in them.

"Uh… well, I often do good on some of the work…" he stammered.

"Don't be so modest, Neville!" said Harry cheerfully. "Tell her all about how good you are." This seemed to perk Neville up.

"Well, you see, when we first started working on them…" started Neville. He then went off, telling his grandmother all about one of their D.A. meetings. During a pause, Mrs. Longbottom excused them and they walked out, Neville relating the story the entire time.

Harry started back towards Lockhart and the others, who had just now noticed he was gone, until a plant caught his eye. It was on the bedside of the mumbling wizard, and though very ugly it sparked something in it. Harry tried to remember where he saw it before.

"Hermione… what does that plant look like to you?" asked Harry in a whisper. Hermione frowned, looking at the plant.

"It looks familiar, maybe something we've done in Herbology?" she asked. Harry shook his head, suddenly identifying the plant.

"Hermione, think! Look at the plant!" he said, panic beginning to seep into his voice. Hermione got up from the chair at Lockhart's bedside and walked over to him. She leaned towards the plant, and was about to touch it when Harry grabbed her hand.

"I wouldn't do that," he muttered. "That plant, Hermione, is called Devil's Snare."

* * *

Lily had no warning. She was sitting peacefully in the tearoom with the others (excluding Molly, Arthur, Harry and the others), guessing where Harry and his friends could be, when a nurse ran into the room.

"An assassination attempt was just stopped by Harry Potter!" she squealed to the room. Instantly everyone was on their feet. Lily exchanged horrified looks with the rest of the table before jumping up and running out the door, but not before asking the nurse where they were.

"Oh, they're being questioned by Aurors in the Janus Thickey ward," she said, after confirming that they were his parents. Lily ran out, followed closely by everyone else. She wasted no time in finding the ward, and bursting inside.

There were three Aurors in the room, along with four people from the press. They were clicking pictures as Harry explained something to the Aurors. They were scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Both the press and the Aurors.

"So, how did you recognize the Devil's Snare?" asked one of the Aurors.

"Oh, I've come across the plant before. It wasn't a fun experience," said Harry. Lily took this moment to interrupt.

"Harry!" she shouted and pulled him into the hug. The Aurors looked uncomfortable, as did Harry, but the press (who were all women) gave small cooing sounds.

"Isn't that cute?" whispered one.

"I'm writing an article on Harry and his mother. You can do the Devil Snare one," whispered another. Lily could feel Harry twitching in annoyance.

"Can we wrap this up?" he asked. The press nodded, snapped a couple more photos, and left. The Aurors gave respectful nods.

"That'll be enough," said one, and they too left.

"Harry, what happened?" asked Lily as soon as they left.

"I saw a Devil's Snare plant given to one of the patients," said Harry in explanation. Lily nodded her head. Of course Harry would recognize it.

"Hold on," said James. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Not my fault," muttered Harry, looking away.

"Hey! I'm still giving out photos!" Lockhart chose this moment to interject. Everyone stared at Lockhart for the moment, before completely ignoring him.

"Him?" asked Lily in disgust.

"Not my fault."

"Right," said James. "Which is why you're here."

"…Hermione's fault," mumbled Harry. James rolled his eyes. He nodded to Sirius and Remus. They both understood. They would never let him live this down.

"Now Harry, it's completely understandable that you want to visit him. After all, he is your role model," said Sirius with a completely straight face. Harry marveled at this. How was he able to do that?

"Oh no you don't. You leave Harry alone," threatened Lily as she seemingly understood what was happening. She suddenly stopped talking and shuddered. "Can we go back to Potter Manor soon? That voice is really affecting me…"

"Of course," said James quickly. "Come on, people, let's go say bye to Arthur and Molly."

They all walked out of the ward, completely ignoring Lockhart's shouts to come back and that they left all the photos, and went to the ward where Arthur was being kept at. They only stayed for a moment, long enough for the Potter family, Sirius, and Remus to say bye before leaving.

* * *

They flooed back to Potter Manor. Harry wasted no time in going up to his room, his mood instantly souring. He had talked to the Healers, and they all said the same thing about Ice. Just keep him comfortable and wait for him to come out of it.

Harry set Ice in a conjured little crib in his room. Yes, he had been carrying around the unconscious Ice. But he had cast a disillusionment charm on the snake so it wouldn't look weird and put him around his shoulders like usual to make sure he wouldn't fall off. No one had commented on the suspicious lump around his shoulders.

Harry missed the small twitch Ice gave as he turned around to go practice with the Sword of Merlin.

* * *

Hermione couldn't help but be worried. First, she had been pulled from her ski vacation because of an urgent emergency with her friends. Then she had been told that Arthur Weasley was injured, and that Harry had witnessed it.

She had seen a lot this vacation, and it was barely a day into it. She had been stumped when Harry had asked her what plant that was, and when it turned out that Harry knew, well… it made her feel inferior.

She knew that the small voice in her head was influencing the things she did, and she acknowledged that it was probably dictating most of her actions. But still.

She felt like she barely knew the man called Harry Potter anymore.

* * *

Harry turned around when he sensed movement in the room. He glanced around, not seeing anything. He turned back to his practice, but when he sensed it again, he turned around sharply.

"Who's there?" he asked. His room had darkened, seeing as it was nighttime. He could barely see. Of course, Harry didn't know why he didn't light some candles. It would be easier that way to practice, but he just didn't feel like putting in the effort.

Harry put down the Sword and quickly lit a candle. After he realized that wouldn't be enough light, he quickly lit some more. Soon the entire room was illuminated, and he still couldn't see what was causing the movement.

"Who's there?" he called again.

_/Ugh… shut up, my head is pounding…/_

_/ICE?!/_ Harry rushed over to the crib to see Ice stirring, looking very grumpy but overall well. Harry wasted no time in looking him over. _/Ice, tell me what happened! They said you were in a magical coma…/_

_/That might be because I was. I hate comas/_ Ice muttered. _/Now let me sleep, stupid boy…/_

Harry, deciding to let Ice sleep for the moment, ran to his mother and father's room. He knocked very loudly on their door and waited a moment. A sleepy looking Lily opened the door.

"Harry? You do know it's midnight, right?" she asked sleepily, resting her head against the doorframe.

"Ice is awake!" yelled Harry happily. Lily nodded drowsily.

"That's nice, dear," she said. She didn't seem to have registered the words, so Harry repeated them loudly into her ear.

"What?!" she yelped. "Ice is awake? Why didn't you tell me sooner?! James, wake up! Oh, never mind, just sleep. Let's wake up the rest!"

Harry and Lily went to Remus' and Sirius' rooms, Harry running into Sirius's and Lily into Remus'.

"Wake up!" Harry yelled, jumping onto the lump that was Sirius. Sirius shot up in bed, and a crack was heard from his back. He lay back down with a wince.

"Ow…" he muttered dismally. Harry ignored this for the moment.

"Ice is awake!" Harry crowed delightedly. Sirius moaned a little.

"Good, now go be with him and let me rest in peace…"

"No. There's no fun in that. Come on, you old man!" Harry shouted. Sirius opened one eye and glared at him.

"I'm not old," he muttered, sounding sulky.

"Then prove it!" Harry yelled and began to drag Sirius off the bed. Lily and Remus had come in somewhere along the line, and were both laughing at them. Harry pouted and Sirius gave a groan.

Harry, Remus, Lily, and Sirius all went down to the kitchens and had a small party. Sirius had a large bottle of firewhiskey while Remus, Lily, and Harry all had butterbeers. Sirius kept trying to get Harry to try some of the firewhiskey, but Lily would stop him every time.

It was one of the most fun nights Harry had ever had. Ice was awake (well, not technically, seeing as he was sleeping, but still), he was going out with Ginny Weasley, Arthur would be fine, and they would be taught Occlumency. He was fine with forgetting everything else for the moment.

They partied until four in the morning, until Sirius was knocked unconscious by the firewhiskey and Lily had dozed off in her butterbeer. Remus levitated Sirius to bed (making sure to open all the curtains and everything, so Sirius could be punished the next morning by the light), and Lily had to keep a hold on Harry so she wouldn't fall down the stairs, since she was so tired.

Remus went to bed, looking fine and not even remotely tired, while Harry went back into his room. He took Ice out of the crib and put him in bed with him. He promptly fell asleep.

Life was getting better.

It seemed.

* * *

The next morning Harry got up around ten. He let himself sleep late (and there was the fact that Ice wasn't about to wake him up, being too tired to do that). When he went down to breakfast, or lunch, he found Lily already there, along with Remus and James. Sirius was also slumped against the table, his eyes shut tight while he clutched his head whimpering.

Lily threw the newspaper at him, and he plucked it out of the air deftly. He opened it up to start reading it.

**_Assassination Attempt Stopped By Harry Potter!_**

_During a visit to Saint Mungos to see a friend's injured father, Harry Potter uncovered a deadly assassination plot. Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable at the Ministry of Magic, was almost killed by a potted plant. To many, this sounds almost pathetic. But it wasn't any old plant. It was the deadly plant, the Devil's Snare._

_The large question here is why was that plant there and how did it get into a pot? Simple. An assassination attempt on Mr. Bode. Many people doubt this, and it was put down as an accident, but can we really say it was?_

_More on Devil Snare plants on page 3. More on Harry Potter on page 5. More on the relationship between Harry Potter and his family on page 7. More on Bode on page 14._

Harry rifled through the paper and found the article on him and his family. He snorted. It was completely useless. It just went on about how their family ties were so strong… how many people strive for the relationship they have…

Harry shook his head and threw the paper aside. Useless idiots. The article went on for seven pages. What was with that? Weren't there more important things to write about then a hug between son and mother? Harry just didn't understand it.

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He just hoped that the Wizarding World didn't run themselves into destruction with their stupidity.

* * *

Donna knew that the Devil's Snare trap wouldn't work. But no one would listen. No matter how many times she told them that Potter would be at the hospital, and that he would probably find out somehow, no one believed her. Not even her Master.

Lord Voldemort had just brushed off her concerns. Bella had laughed cruelly and teased her about being stupid enough to doubt their Master's plans. Donna sighed and began to rifle through the cabinets, searching for the wine. When she couldn't find any, she frowned.

"Where did it go?" she muttered. She suddenly recalled using the last of it last night. She frowned and summoned her cloak, preparing to go out for some. Until she was caught up in a broken memory…

**_-Flashback-_**

_"Donna, get out! Go!"_

_"Donald! No!"_

_"We need…"_

_"You have to believe…"_

_"We wouldn't ever…"_

_"Oh no!"_

_As always, one word stood out._

_"BELLA!"_

**_-End Flashback-_**

Donna summoned a pad of paper instead of the cloak and scribbled it all down on a piece of paper. No matter how confusing, she wrote everything she remembered down. She frowned at the result.

"What is this? I don't remember it…" she muttered. She shook her head. "There's something wrong here. I don't like it."

She pondered this new development. She stared at the piece of paper and read it over and over again, hoping to spark a memory or something. Nothing came to mind. She frowned and sat down in a chair.

Donna sighed. There wasn't anything she could do now. Maybe she could talk to her Master…? No. No, she wouldn't. Something was telling her not to go to Voldemort… but why? Wouldn't it best to seek help? And who better than her Master?

But something in her was telling her not to go to him.

Donna realized then that something was seriously wrong.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter. This was relatively easy to write, thankfully. I've been hitting a large amount of writer's block with this story, but that might be because I haven't much time to spend on this. **_An Icy Capture_** is coming along fine, but it might be a while until it comes out. I've hit a writer's block with that too.

Flagmore and Kililillililililililo are made up names. If they do end up having some meaning (like a swear in another language) then I apologise. I wouldn't know, seeing as I can only speak English. I just came up with them off the top of my head.

Please review.


	30. Chapter 30

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 30

* * *

**

Harry scowled as he looked about the place. He hated Grimmauld Place, no matter how much they tried to improve it. It reeked of dark magic, and it made him feel vaguely sick. Harry had stopped even trying to bring Ice, as not only was he even more sensitive to it then humans, but he was still weak from the encounter with Umbridge.

Speaking of Umbridge, Dolores Umbridge's trial should be taking place soon. It had been decided that it would take place over the Christmas holidays.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was pretty sure it would happen at the end of the holidays. It was only one day into the holidays so far and he already had all of his homework done. Lily and Hermione, in their own way, tried to make up for the voice and had helped him with his essays to the point where Harry knew that he would be getting an O on all of them. They were so perfect that it was almost depressing.

Harry began to walk down a flight of stairs, heading for the hallway in front of the front door. He wasted no time in getting down there, but James stopped him from going to the kitchen.

"Hey Harry!" he said cheerfully as he grabbed him and spun him around, walking up the stairs that Harry had just finished going down.

"What do you want?" asked Harry suspiciously. James pretended to look hurt.

"Whatever do you mean, Harry dearest?" he asked innocently. Harry, at once, realized that gleam in his eyes.

"What's so huge that has you doing **The Glint**?" asked Harry. James once again pretended to look hurt.

"Harry! Don't be mean! Can't I just want to spend time with my favorite son?"

"I'm your only son… so far," said Harry. James perked up at the mention of Lily being pregnant.

"Guess what, Harry? Lily's gained a couple of pounds! It's kind of unnoticeable, but still!" said James cheerfully. So far, James had been thoroughly enjoying Lily being pregnant. He was already thinking up names, and was driving Lily up the wall with his treatment of her. She was barely even a month pregnant and he was already treating her like glass that was on an unstable shelf. Harry feared for his mother's sanity.

"Are you going to take her to Madam Pomfrey sometime for a check up?" asked Harry.

"Yep. She's going for one after the holidays," said James as he continued dragging Harry upstairs. Harry tried to get out of James' grip, and, surprisingly enough, was successful. Harry whirled around, getting ready to run for his life, but was not prepared for James tackling him. Which isn't a very smart thing to do when they're on a long flight of stairs, nearly halfway up.

They began to tumble down, but somehow James grabbed onto an old step of the stairs, which was halfway sticking up, which saved both him and Harry, who was entangled with him. They struggled to get up for a few moments, and when they did they stared at each other for a few moments.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked James solemnly. Harry nodded. They both sprinted to the top of the stairs and grabbed a portrait each. Thankfully, they were blank portraits, so they weren't subjected to complaining.

Harry and James grinned at each other as they set their portraits down. They carefully climbed on top of them. "On the count of three," started James, "one… two… three!"

They both pushed off as hard as they could, and they went sailing down the stairs. They were both laughing so hard that they were pretty much crying as they sped down the stairs. Heads poked out of rooms, only to go back inside when they realized it was only James acting up. With Harry.

What they didn't plan, however, was how they were going to stop. As they sailed off the last of the steps, Molly walked out right at that moment. And the portraits, wanting payback for being used in such a manner, kept going.

"AH!" screamed Molly as she was bowled over, and came to rest right on top of poor James. The portraits kept on going right down into the kitchen, and the portraits didn't stop there. They began to turn and twist, with Molly screaming her head off all the while.

The paintings finally came to rest… right before a very angry Lily. She had her wand out and pointed at the pictures and them, looking menacing.

"JUST WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING?!" she screeched as she helped Molly off of James. Molly looked traumatized.

"We were thinking about how cool it was," said Harry, his hair windswept as he got up and dusted himself off. Not that he needed to, it was just for effect.

"Did you not think about how you could hurt someone?!" snapped Lily.

"Nope, never gave it a thought," said James flippantly as he too got off of his portrait and dusted himself off.

"Well, our work here is done, so we're going now…" said Harry cautiously as he began to back up.

"Hold it!" shouted Lily as she advanced on them, still holding her wand out. James grabbed the wand.

"For how long?" he asked smoothly. Lily gaped at him while Harry, finding this a perfect time to escape, ran up the stairs.

Harry grinned as he heard the tell tale shouts of his mother. As he came into the hallway, Tonks came stumbling in.

"Wotcha, Harry," she said happily. Harry gave a small sigh of relief when Tonks didn't knock over anything on her way in. Harry could still hear his mother shouting.

"COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE!" he heard her scream. Tonks winced.

"Not safe?" she asked.

"Not safe," said Harry, referring to the kitchen. Tonks sighed.

"Well, I'd best be going then. Don't want to get on the wrong side of your mother," she said as she turned around. Remus chose this time to walk into the hallway.

"Tonks!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for dinner, but I'm not sure if I should stay," she said.

"Nonsense! Lily will calm down, I'm sure, and then you can eat," said Remus with a soft smile. Harry watched the two interact for a few more moments, before a large smile made it's way over his face.

Harry hurried back down to the kitchen. Lily's shouting had stopped, so Harry deemed it safe. He peeked in, and found Lily hovering over James who was doing some dishes. He had a pout on his face.

Harry slid into the kitchen. Lily spun around and put her hands on her hips when she saw him. She opened her mouth, most likely to give him another round of scolding, but Harry cut her off.

"I have just uncovered a fascinating piece of news!" he announced to the kitchen, which right now consisted of James, Lily, Molly, Sirius (who was stuffing his face full of food) and Fred.

"What is it?" asked James, happy for the excuse to turn away from the dishes.

"Remus has a crush!"

**_"What?!"_** yelped both James and Sirius at the same time. They both gave their full attention to Harry. Fred was smirking, ready for blackmail material while Lily and Molly were shaking their heads.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but I heard from some unlikely sources that…" here Harry thought a moment, "Remus was found snogging someone in a broom closet!"

"Tell us more!" cried James.

"Well, from said source, apparently Remus was found with the same girl in his bed the next night!" said Harry with a flourish, looking around the room. Sirius looked impressed.

"Wow. Never knew that Moony had it in him," he said, completely awed.

"Oh please," snorted Lily, "can't you tell that he's making this all up?" James and Sirius both turned to Harry, who was trying his best to keep his face straight. He was failing miserably.

"Hey! You aren't allowed to trick us like that!" said Sirius indignantly.

"Your faces were funny, though," said Harry unapologetically. "And anyways, Remus does has a crush. I just exaggerated a little."

"What do you mean?" asked Lily.

"Well, it's obvious that he likes Tonks," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "Can't you tell?" From the looks on their faces, they couldn't tell.

Remus walked in at that moment. The entire kitchen stared at him, and when Tonks walked in right after him, there was more shocked silence. Then Sirius broke it.

"Remus, how could you!" he wailed.

"Without even telling us!" cried James, joining in. Sirius and James grabbed each other in a hug, pretending to cry on each other's shoulders.

"Here we were, completely unsuspecting and innocent, and then you go off and do that!" sobbed Sirius.

"I feel so betrayed!" sniffled James. This brought more pretend crying from the two. Remus, seeming to be used to this behavior, simply sat down and asked what was for dinner. Tonks was inexperienced, however.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked quizzically.

"And you too, Tonky!" wailed James. "How could you do that to us! Without even saying anything! In fact, if Harry hadn't informed us, we would have never known! And, just for the record, its all Harry's fault," said James. Sirius sniffled and nodded.

"Not my fault," said Harry and decided to flee the kitchen once more.

* * *

Lily hummed happily as she hurried around the kitchen. It had been decided that the next day they would go to Diagon Alley, because in all the excitement most of them hadn't had the time to pick up Christmas presents. Lily was already planning the trip out. 

Lily began to assist Molly in cooking the dinner. Her thoughts began to wonder around, and finally settled on the babies. She really couldn't wait to have them! She actually hoped that she would have twins. One boy and one girl. That was what she really wanted.

She didn't mention this to James, though. Because if it turned out that there was just one baby, then James might think she wanted another, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to get pregnant again so fast.

Lily sighed dreamily as she began to make the mashed potatoes. They already had names nearly picked out. They had decided on four names for the girls, yet to be decided among those. Violet, Rose, Daisy, and Lily. Lily wasn't sure that she wanted her daughter named after her though. If it was a boy, then they would name him James after, of course, James.

Lily smiled as Harry came into the kitchen and plopped down into the chair next to Sirius. Then she remembered that she should be mad at him, and scowled viciously as she began to mash the mashed potatoes.

"Harry, help me with dinner. James, back to the dishes!" Lily snapped.

"Yes ma'am," they quickly muttered as they began their duties. Sirius snickered. Lily gave him a sharp glance.

"Do you want to join them, Sirius?" she asked. Sirius quickly shook his head and got up.

"Well, look at the time!" he said loudly. "I should be off doing… something that isn't in here!" Sirius quickly hurried away after this announcement. Lily rolled her eyes and resumed her cooking.

* * *

Harry set the food down on the table as people began to wander into the kitchen for dinner. Harry soon sat down himself when he discovered that the rest would be taken care of by Lily and Molly. 

Soon everyone was assembled at the table. Sirius was loudly talking about how he had pranked James the other day, and James retaliated by talking about how he had stolen Sirius's clothes while he was in the shower so he had to walk out of the bathroom completely naked to get to a towel. This resulted in both of them telling embarrassing stories about the other.

"And then, McGonagall runs into the room. James, still standing there, wondering why I had thrust a paint bucket full of purple paint in his hands, was caught when he didn't even do anything! McGonagall was so mad at him that she took thirty points off of Gryffindor!" finished Sirius.

"And Sirius was left completely soaked after the prank backfired on him!" concluded James at the same time. The two men glared at each other before starting on other stories, each more embarrassing then the last.

Harry sighed and shook his head. While the stories were insanely amusing, they were also childish. Lily seemed to be sharing similar thoughts to Harry's, as she was glaring at the two boys.

"How old are you?" she asked in disgust.

"I'm twenty while Sirius is over thirty!" crowed James. "Who's the old man? Sirius is!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that you died for fourteen years! It was a fluke!" howled Sirius. "I bet when you turn my age you'll be even more wrinkly then Remus!"

"Excuse me?" asked Remus with a raised eyebrow. Sirius chose to ignore him.

"I mean, have you seen that man? It's like he's eighty!" said Sirius. Remus pulled out his wand and flicked it in Sirius' direction. At once, Sirius' hair stuck up like it had been electrocuted.

"HA! He got you there, Sirius!" yelled James.

"Remus!" whined Sirius. "Come on, undo it!"

"I forgot how to," said Remus.

"What?! No you didn't! You don't forget anything!"

"Glad you think so, Sirius," said Remus in an exasperated voice. "I especially don't forget when people, whose name I won't mention, call me wrinkly and eighty."

"Really? Who did that? Was it James?" asked Sirius innocently.

"That's enough," snapped Lily. Sirius pouted but relented while James crossed his arms childishly and leaned back in his seat.

"What are we all doing tomorrow?" asked Remus.

"Well, since Christmas is only a couple of days away, we're going to Diagon Alley to pick up some Christmas gifts," said Lily. "Then me, Harry, and James are going to visit the Dursley family and wish them a Happy Christmas."

"WHAT?!" shouted both Harry and James at the same time.

"You heard me," said Lily calmly.

"But why? We hate them!" said James as he sat up angrily.

"Yes, we do, but they're still family. We have to make sure that they're well,"

"But we hope that they aren't well!" exclaimed James.

"James! That's enough! We will be going, and we are going to be civil to them!" snapped Lily. "End of discussion! We're only staying for dinner and then we won't see them for ages!"

"But I don't want to see them at all!" whined James as he sensed the argument was lost.

"I don't care," said Lily as she rolled her eyes.

"You're so mean," pouted James.

"Thank you," said Lily primly. James stuck his tongue out at her, which she responded to with another eye roll.

* * *

The next day they found themselves in a crowd of late shoppers in Diagon Alley. Everyone was there except for Mr. Weasley who was in the hospital and Fred and George, who were with their father. 

"Okay, we're going to Flourish and Blotts first," said Lily.

"Shouldn't we split up so we don't know what we got each other?" asked Harry. Lily glared at him, but was unable to deny this logic.

"Fine, but everyone be back at the Leaky Cauldron at noon," said Lily. They all nodded and went off in different directions.

Harry walked down the road and began his Christmas shopping. He picked up some books for both Hermione and Lily, he got some jokes for James, Sirius, Fred, George, and Remus, he got some muggle supplies for Mr. Weasley, he got a cook book for Mrs. Weasley that he was sure she didn't know of, he got a nice necklace for Ginny that had an emerald in it, and he got some quidditch gear for Ron.

After Harry was sure that he had gotten everyone something, he checked his watch and found that he still had an hour for himself. He considered his options for a moment. He could go back to the Leaky Cauldron early and wait for everyone there, or he could go off by himself.

He decided to walk around the shops by himself for a little while. Unfortunately, because of all the shoppers, Harry was beginning to get a bit claustrophobic. He found a small shop that had no sign on it, and decided to go in.

Harry wondered around the shop for a little while, just browsing. It was sometime later that he got the feeling of being watched. The back of his neck prickled. He turned and discreetly looked around the shop. He found that there were two other people in the store. One was a lady and the other was a man. The woman kept glancing over at him. At once, he knew that this was the person that was watching him.

He kept his eye on her, making sure that she didn't do anything. She just kept glancing over at him every once in a while. Finally, she straightened up, like she was building up her courage to do something. Then she turned resolutely and walked over to him.

"You're Harry Potter, right?" she asked. There was a small amount of nervousness in her voice.

"Yes," said Harry, his eyes narrowing a fraction. If this was a trick, he should try to be prepared for anything. He wasn't quite prepared for what happened next, though.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S HARRY POTTER!" she screamed, jumping up and down in delight. "Oh please, please can I have your autograph?!"

A suddenly amused Harry smiled at her. "Sure, I guess," he relented after seeing her hopeful look. She squealed again and held out a piece of parchment and a quill loaded with ink. He wondered where she got it, before writing his name down on the parchment. The woman squealed one more time before running out of the shop.

Harry smiled and turned back to the products as he began to browse again. Suddenly his senses went on high alert. He whipped around to face the store again. The fan girl was gone, so who was…? He didn't see anyone.

Harry frowned and slowly walked out of the shop and into an alleyway between two shops. There was a dead end, so there was only one way out of it. There wasn't much space or anything, and the alleyway was sort of short, so Harry would know if someone came into it. Sure enough, a man came poking around the front of the alleyway.

Harry suddenly recognized him. The man from the store. Harry's eyes narrowed and he fully faced the man. Suddenly, the man's appearance changed into that of a Death Eater's robes.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A Potter boy lost?" he sneered as he came forward.

"Who the hell are you?" Harry snarled, his wand instantly in his hand. The Death Eater chuckled and pulled out his own wand, waving it lazily. Harry put up a shield around himself, but found it was unneeded. The Death Eater only warded the area around them.

"A couple of charms that'll insure that we aren't interrupted," he said smoothly.

"Oh? And why wouldn't you want us interrupted?" asked Harry.

"Because I'm about to kill you, and I don't want anyone to know. You made many mistakes, Harry Potter."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, his grip on his wand tightening.

"Do you remember the night at the graveyard? With the Dark Lord? Do you remember shooting off a stunner? _Do you know what that stunner did?_" the man snarled.

"Who are you?" asked Harry instead of answering the question. It was a stupid question, really. All it could have done was stunned someone.

"My name is Lanish, and you will die for the things you have done! **_Mensis debilito!_**"

* * *

Bellatrix smiled to herself as she slid into the room. All she needed to do was complete this one task. Donna Umbridge was gaining her memories back, and she couldn't have that. 

Bella took out her wand and smiled when she saw Donna moving. She muttered a quick spell and was triumphant when she saw the witch fall. Bella moved quickly. She had to leave. Her mission was complete.

* * *

A/N: A bit of a cliffhanger there. Mensis Debilito is Latin. I'm not sure of the accuracy of the translator I have, but so far it's all I have. I'm sure many people will be asking about **The Glint**. It was in some of the earliest chapters, so if you want to know exactly what it is look in some of the first chapters. 

This was supposed to be a light, happy chapter after all that's happened, but it obviously didn't turn out that way. I didn't quite intend to put Lanish in here again quite yet, but he somehow wormed his way into this chapter. As many of you noticed, I included possible names for the baby. If you would like to suggest a name or two, it would be taken into consideration.

This chapter is also really short. I apologise, but I've been going through some major writer's block. Since I'm going through writer's block, this story is beginning to become a chore to me instead of an enjoyment. I'll tell you right now, I have no intention of abandoning this story. I did not spend over a year writing and creating this just to quit. However, **_An Icy Capture_** will come out much, much later than I thought it would.

This chapter was barely edited, I only briefly looked it over before posting it up due. So I'll apologise now for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Please review! PLEASE!


	31. Chapter 31

**Returning of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 31

* * *

**

Harry was barely able to dodge the brown curse. He immediately identified it as the one that was shot at him at Hogsmeade—the one Donna Umbridge had shot. Harry was suddenly regretting going into the particular alleyway, as it was very restraining. Why had he let himself get cornered?

The curse came it him again, and he began to think back. His mother had given him a few Latin lessons before she had given up… he believed the curse was 'month to weaken', or it could also be translated to 'month of exhaustion'. He was inclined to believe the latter.

Harry flicked his wand and sent the curse back at Lanish. Lanish didn't realize it was coming, and was barely able to get out of the way in time. Lanish glared at him.

"You really don't know what that stunner did, do you?" he whispered. Harry ignored him, deciding that all Lanish was saying was complete nonsense. Harry shot a hex at Lanish, but the man dodged. Lanish began to laugh.

"You don't know! You don't know how many lives you ruined, just by that one curse!" he crowed. Harry frowned. A stunner shouldn't have really hurt anyone.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry.

"Lanish?! What are you doing?" came a harsh whisper. Harry's blood ran cold when the form of Bellatrix Lestrange came into view. "I just finished my mission, and I come here to see you playing around?! Master told us if we ever get the chance to capture the Potter boy, then to get him and go! There is no time to be playing around, you idiot!"

Harry used Lanish's distraction against him and shot off another spell. The stunner hit true, and Lanish fell. Bellatrix turned to Harry and Harry pointed his wand at her too.

"Well now, Potter, I don't have the time to—AGH!" she screamed as Harry, quick as lightning, surged forward and slammed his fist into her nose. She backed away, holding the broken and bleeding nose while glaring at him.

"You'll pay for that," she said in a deadly voice.

"Will I?" challenged Harry as he raised his wand again.

Bella didn't respond. Instead, she whipped out her wand and began to shoot off curse after curse. Because of the alleyway being so small, Harry was forced to put up a shield instead of dodging around. His shield slowly began to weaken with the constant pressure against it, and Harry was glad of all the coaching Ice had given him. If it hadn't been for Ice Harry doubted that he would have lasted this long.

**_"Mensis Debilito! Stupify! Expelliarmis! Impedimenta!"_** cried Bellatrix. She wasn't shooting off any Unforgivables, and Harry knew that it was because Voldemort wanted him intact.

Harry's shield began to waver, but Harry stubbornly kept it up. He knew that Bellatrix was tiring from the constant spell work that she had to do, and Harry was waiting for the one moment when she would hesitate, or pause, to strike.

That moment came quick enough. She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath, and Harry quickly dispelled his shield and waved his wand.

**_"MENSIS DEBILITO!"_** he cried, using their own spell against them. Bellatrix wasn't quick enough to cast a shield, but she moved slightly, making the spell go over her shoulder. Harry cursed and began to say the incantation again, but Bella was one ahead of him. Sensing that she wasn't going to win the fight, she swooped down upon Lanish and portkeyed out.

Harry cursed at his foolishness of letting them get away. He felt a small amount of magic shift in the air, and knew that any of Lanish's wards had fallen finally. Harry quickly got out of the alleyway and back into the bustle of Diagon Alley.

He was appalled to find that not even one person had noticed anything was wrong. Why hadn't anyone noticed the wards going up or down? He supposed it was because of the large amount of magic in the air from Diagon Alley and the hundreds of people around them, casting spells here and there.

Harry sighed and began to search for his parents. He debated on whether or not to tell them. As much as he wanted to be truthful, he knew that Lily would freak out and say that he never be allowed to Diagon Alley again. Harry knew that she wasn't quite herself; both from the pregnancy and from the voice.

Harry scanned the crowds, trying to find someone he knew. He decided just to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. As he hurried through the crowd, he kept looking, hoping to make sure that his family and friends were all right.

He finally got to the Leaky Cauldron, only to find that he was the first one there. A feeling of unease settled into his stomach and he looked around.

He sat down at a nearby table and waited for them to come. He watched the door carefully, and kept checking his watch. 12:00. 12:15. 12:30. When it was an hour past their agreed meeting time, Harry got up to see what was happening. What he was not expecting, however, was a flare in his scar and Sirius bursting into the pub, gasping for breath.

"Harry! There you are! There's been an attack!"

"Sirius?! What's happened?" asked Harry as he began to follow Sirius, who was leading him out of the pub.

"Yeah. Voldemort somehow found out we were here and attacked. He sent out some of his men to occupy us," said Sirius. Harry glanced around. No one seemed to have realized anything was wrong.

"What? How did he find out? Why has no one noticed?" asked Harry.

"Well, he has no clue how he found out. No one's noticed is because we were all attacked in store's that are barely populated. Me, James, and Lily all met up accidentally at this one store, and there wasn't anyone in it except the shopkeeper and us. Well, it turned out the shopkeeper was a Death Eater! So he attacked us, and we were able to escape unharmed and without anyone the wiser to what's happened. Unfortunately, everyone else was attacked too, without anyone noticing! They all set up wards so no one would realize anything was wrong… and Ron's been injured pretty badly, along with Ginny. Everyone else held their own pretty well against the Death Eaters until help arrived," panted out Sirius.

"Where are we going?" asked Harry.

"To a second hand shop where Ginny was, and where Ron now is too. We needed to get you before we did anything else," said Sirius.

"Are you taking them to Madam Pomfrey?" asked Harry.

"I think so," answered Sirius. He skidded to a halt in front of a shabby looking shop. They went inside and found the rest there. Everyone was very pale, and Ron had blotches of blood on his robes while Ginny was holding out a broken arm. Harry quickly assessed what happened. It looked like Ginny had only gotten a broken arm, but Ron… he was deathly pale, and the blotches were only growing. There were about five patches of blood on his robes. One by his elbow, one by his knee, one in the stomach area, and two on the chest. The one on his stomach was looking the worst, as it was growing the quickest.

"I got him! Let's go!" panted out Sirius. Lily whipped out an emergency portkey and grabbed onto Ginny. James did the same with Ron. The rest of them were standing there, still white.

"What now?" asked Hermione.

"Now we floo to Hogwarts," said Remus. They nodded and grabbed some floo powder, before going to Hogwarts.

* * *

When the portkey deposited Lily and Ginny in the Hospital Wing, Lily wasted no time in contacting Madam Pomfrey. When the Matron saw what had happened (James and Ron had appeared by this time) she started immediately with Ron.

Lily fluttered around nervously, helping Madam Pomfrey out with whatever she could. When the Healer asked her to go to Snape for some more blood replenishing potions, she nodded and ran out of the room to go to the Dungeons.

The castle was pretty silent, even though it was the afternoon. She thought it was because most of the students were gone for the holidays. She was out of breath by the time she had reached Snape's office, and wasted no time in pounding on the door. It took a minute for him to answer, but he raised his eyebrow when he saw whom it was.

"What do you—"

"I need a blood replenishing potion!" she gasped out. Snape disappeared for a moment before coming back with the said potion. He handed it to her, but before he could ask about it she had taken off running again.

She almost ran into a couple of startled students in her haste to get to the hospital wing. She burst into the wing and limped up to Madam Pomfrey before handing her the potion. The potion was quickly used, along with a dreamless sleep potion, and Ron was put to rest.

Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to Ginny now. She tapped her wand against the arm, but it didn't heal. She frowned and did it again.

"Mrs. Weasley, did you hear the incantation to the curse?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No, the Death Eater whispered it," answered Ginny. "Why? You can heal it, right?"

"I'm not sure. I think that the Death Eater used some sort of Dark incantation," said Madam Pomfrey. The fireplace roared to life at that moment, and it spit out Sirius. Then came Remus, and before they knew it everyone was there.

Madam Pomfrey looked furious. "Out! Out! I need peace and quiet!" she shrieked. No one listened to her, instead began to question her about the condition of their friends and family.

"That's enough!" roared James. At once everyone was silent. "Let's listen to her instead of talk at her, okay?"

"Well, Mr. Weasley will be fine. Mrs. Weasley I'm not so sure about. Lily, can you please fetch Professor Umbridge for me? She should be able to tell what did this, she is, after all, the Defense teacher."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to get her?" asked Harry in concern.

"It'll be okay. I'll get her," said Lily as she turned and raced out of the hospital wing again.

When she finally arrived at Umbridge's office, she knocked. When she received no reply, she knocked again, this time louder. Lily tried the door, and when she found it unlocked she opened it cautiously and went in.

The room was dark, so Lily waved her wand and lights came on. She didn't see anyone, but knew that Donna wouldn't be sleeping at this time. "Hello? Is anyone here?" she called as she began to wander around Donna's office.

Suddenly she tripped over something on the floor. She cursed and sat up. She looked down to see what had tripped her and screamed.

Her heart was racing as she grabbed Donna's wrist. Her body was very cold, like it had died. She felt for a pulse, and was glad when she felt one, no matter how faint it was. She waved her wand and Donna's body floated up in the air, and Lily began to direct the body to the hospital wing, her running behind it all the way.

When Lily burst into the hospital once again, floating Umbridge's prone body in front of her, there was dead silence in the wing before loud talk broke. Lily floated Donna onto a bed while Madam Pomfrey began to check her over.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her!" said Madam Pomfrey after about ten minutes. "It looks like she just collapsed! But she won't wake up either, no matter how many Ennervate spells I send at her!"

"Maybe it's a curse that you can't detect?" suggested Lily. As much as she was suspicious of the Defense Professor, she wasn't about to let her die!

"It might be, but I doubt it," said Madam Pomfrey truthfully. "I would be able to detect it if it did any harm to her."

"Maybe it didn't harm her, but it just knocked her out?" questioned Harry.

"No, then I would be able to detect it," said Madam Pomfrey.

"What about Ginny's arm?" asked Molly, clutching her daughter to her protectively. Ginny moaned when her mother jostled her arm.

"Mum, stop coddling me!" she snapped as she tried to get from her mother's clutches.

Harry sighed and began to look at Ginny's arm himself. It seemed that no one really paid attention to what he was doing until he spoke.

"It looks like a bone-breaking hex, except darker," muttered Harry. "Maybe you just need to put more power into your healing?"

"I tried that!" said Madam Pomfrey.

"Then maybe you need someone else to do it, maybe someone with more power? Like Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry. Madam Pomfrey considered this, before she suddenly stood up straighter.

"Now I know what it is! This is a certain curse that you need to have the same or a larger amount of power than the caster to heal it!" she said. "That means that I don't have enough power!"

"So should we get the Headmaster?" asked Harry.

"We can't," said Madam Pomfrey. "He's out in the forest, dealing with the Graphorns. He's sending them back to their natural habitat,"

"Then maybe one of us could heal it?" suggested Harry. Madam Pomfrey thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Maybe. Which one of you has the most power here?"

"Either James, Sirius, Remus, or Harry," said Lily.

"James," said Sirius at the same time James said Sirius. They glanced at each other and with that one look came a decision.

"Harry," they both chorused.

"Huh?" came the clueless answer of Harry.

"Okay, Mr. Potter, hold out you wand like this…" said Madam Pomfrey as she began to instruct him on how to heal her arm.

Before long, Harry tapped Ginny's arm and muttered the appropriate words. Nothing happened for a moment, then Ginny's arm started to heal. She gave a howl of pain as she felt the bone slowly being put back together.

The process was over relatively quick, and everyone admired Harry's work. "It feels fine," said Ginny when she was asked how it felt. Madam Pomfrey kept bending it and poking at it to make sure Harry didn't mess it up somehow and make her ever more injured than she already was.

* * *

When everyone went back to Grimmauld Place (excluding, of course, Ginny and Ron) Harry sat down and felt like going to sleep. That was not what happened, however.

"Harry! Get ready! We're going to see the Dursley's now!" said Lily cheerfully. Harry groaned.

"But mum, it's only three in the afternoon! How long are we going to stay there?" he asked.

"Well, we're going there around three thirty, and we'll stay for dinner," she said.

"Do I have to?" he asked.

"Yes," she said without any hesitation. "Now, I know you hate them, Harry, and I do too, but they're family and they should be treated that way. No matter how foul you think of them, we're going to treat them with respect!"

"Fine," Harry muttered sulkily.

"Oh, cheer up Harry, we'll only be seeing them today! Then we won't see them for a whole year! Hopefully."

"You just had to add that hopefully in, didn't you?" accused Harry as he got up from the chair he was sitting in.

"Yep," said Lily, the cheerfulness back in her voice.

* * *

James cackled evilly. The Dursley's wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

When the time finally came for them to go to the Dursley's, Lily held out an orange for them to grab onto. Harry touched it, along with James, and felt the familiar feeling of a hook pulling on his navel.

They were deposited in an immaculate kitchen. The entire place seemed to shine. No one was there, and they way Lily shifted a little guiltily Harry realized that the Dursley's probably didn't know that they were coming.

"Well, come on!" she said as she began to herd them out of the kitchen.

"Where are we, exactly?" asked Harry.

"Somewhere in Asia, I think," murmured Lily. "I think we're in India, but I'm not sure—James, what is that?!" said Lily sharply as she became aware of a bundle James held. James put on an innocent look.

"Why, it's just a small present I brought them—"

"No! You will not be pranking them, James! This is going to be a civil dinner!" said Lily sharply. "Now come on. They don't know that we're coming…"

Suddenly there came a cry. "MUM! DAD! THERE ARE FREAKS IN OUR HOUSE!" came the shout of Dudley, who had spotted them.

They heard a crash from above, and then the roar of Vernon. "WHAT?! THEY TOLD US THEY WOULD STAY AWAY FROM NOW ON!"

"OY, WE'RE FAMILY, WE'RE ALLOWED TO VISIT AROUND CHRISTMAS!" James shouted back.

Petunia came out of what looked like the living room, and Vernon came down from a set of stairs.

"It's not Christmas!" snarled Petunia. "Now get out of our house!"

"The house that we so kindly provided you with. Yes, it's not Christmas yet, but we're not about to spoil it by seeing you people," said James in disgust.

"How dare you speak like that—"

"Oh, shut up, Vernon!" snapped Lily. "We just came here for a civil dinner, then we won't come back for a year!"

"We don't want you here at all!" said Petunia.

"You don't have a choice. Let's just eat and get this over with!" said Harry, exasperated with the entire situation. Lily and James both nodded, and the Dursleys acquiesced, but not without a large amount of grumbling.

They all sat down in the living room, the air around them awkward. Petunia was in the kitchen making dinner. Lily tried to make some conversation.

"So, how's your new house?" asked Lily.

"Horrible. We can't understand a single thing of what people around us say," snapped Vernon.

"Why didn't you ask someone to put translator charms on you?" asked Lily.

"We don't want anyone doing any freaky business around us!" snarled Vernon.

"Well, it would really help is you asked," said Lily.

"We're not asking, thank you very much!" snapped Vernon. Lily frowned.

"And how have you been doing, Dudley?" asked Lily.

"Don't speak to them, Dudley," said Vernon sharply.

"Excuse me?" asked Lily, sounding offended. "You can't tell him who to talk to!"

"I just did," said Vernon darkly.

"I'm doing fine, thank you," said Dudley, quickly ending the argument.

"Dinner's ready!" called Petunia from the kitchen, quickly ending anymore attempts at conversation. They all trooped into the kitchen and sat down around the table before loading their plates with food.

Harry subtly checked his food for any poisoning. He was satisfied when he didn't find anything, and began to eat the food. It wasn't as good as Molly's cooking, but it was edible.

As they were eating, Lily attempted a couple more starts at conversations, all which ended quickly. The Dursley's seemed to want them out of their house as quickly as possible. James, obviously sensing this, began to eat as slowly as possible.

"AH! MICE!" screamed Petunia suddenly as she jumped up onto her chair. Mice were beginning to march into the kitchen and began to swarm around the Dursley's seats.

Petunia began to scream as suddenly huge spiders and other bugs began to pour into the kitchen. Vernon and Dudley both scrambled up onto their chairs as well, only to have the chairs break under their weight.

"HELP!" screeched Petunia as she watched her husband and son get covered with the insects and rodents.

Lily and Harry both sat there, stunned, while James began to laugh heartily. Petunia's hair became a shocking blue, and the kitchen became very dirty and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Petunia kept screaming, at the same time sobbing.

"James! Knock it off!" yelled Lily as she realized who was doing this. James only laughed harder. Harry tried to keep his laughter under control, as it was a bit cruel to do.

Suddenly all the spiders disappeared, along with the mice and Petunia's blue hair. The kitchen stayed dirty though.

"I think that this would be an appropriate time to leave," stated James as Dudley and Vernon got up off the floor, both looked furious.

"Yes," said Lily faintly, "it would."

Lily held out the portkey and Harry and James grabbed it just as Vernon let loose a roar and lunged at them. The last thing they saw was his angry face before they were whisked back to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

"ONE DINNER! THAT WAS ALL I ASKED OF YOU! AND WHAT HAPPENED? YOU DECIDE TO PRANK THE HELL OUT OF THEM!" screamed Lily as soon as they were back. James smiled.

"Aw, come on, you know it was funny," James said as Harry quickly fled the scene, most likely to fill his friends in on the events that took place.

"FUNNY?! **_FUNNY?!_**" she screamed, "IT WAS NOT FUNNY! ALL I WANTED WAS A NICE, CIVIL DINNER AND YOU RUINED IT!"

James shrugged unconcernedly. "It was a horrible dinner anyway," said James as he began to walk off. He ignored Lily's continued screams and hurried away before she took out her wand.

"What happened?" asked Sirius as soon as he got into the kitchen.

"Oh, I just played a couple of pranks and Lily blew her top," said James.

"Really? What pranks?" asked Sirius.

"I just turned Petunia's hair blue, invaded their kitchen with insects and mice, and made their kitchen a mess," said James.

"Aw, James, you're losing your touch. Those are so unoriginal. Anyone would have thought of them!" complained Sirius.

"Yeah, well, at least I can successfully prank someone. You can't do anything without getting caught," said James. Sirius scowled at him.

"I can prank someone without getting caught!" said Sirius indignantly.

"Really? Name one," challenged James.

"The time I flushed the toilet when you were in the shower!" said Sirius.

"That wasn't a prank! That was just plain cruel!" said James. "Anyways, just because the water was cold for a moment while I was taking a nice, hot shower doesn't mean you pranked me! Name another."

"Fine. The time I posted all of your baby pictures all over the Great Hall."

James decided not to reply to this. Instead he began to rummage around in the cabinets.

"Do you have any food around here? And why are we here, anyways? Why aren't we at Potter Manor?"

"Because, James, we agreed to stay here for a while because it's easier to get to Saint Mungo's from here," said Sirius.

"What are you talking about? We can get there just as easy if we were in Potter Manor!"

"Good point," said Sirius. "Well, we're just here then. No reason, I guess,"

"I want to go to Potter Manor!" whined James.

"JAMES POTTER, WHERE DID YOU GO?!" came the shout of his wife, who was still angry over the Dursley situation.

"Good luck, mate," said Sirius as James winced and opened the pantry door before hiding in it.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! My writer's block is nearly gone now. I still had some trouble in writing this chapter, but I was able to do it pretty easily.

There were a lot of mixed feelings about the names. A lot of people said that if it was a girl then I shouldn't name it after a flower, but a lot of people said I should. I will most likely name her Rose, since I'm most partial to that, but I might name her something else. If it's a boy, I don't know what I'll name him. Almost everyone told me not to name him James, because it would be confusing. I decided not to name him James, now I'm thinking about Henry, but I need suggestions on both boy and girl names!


	32. Chapter 32

Returning of the Parents

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 32

* * *

**

Finally, it was Christmas day. Lily had thankfully cooled off about the Dursley incident, though she had punished James severely by making him sleep on the couch. At the moment, they were all gathered around the Christmas tree. The bright fairy lights from it were twinkling happily.

Harry watched as the fairy lights lit up again and the charmed snow around it shimmer in the glow of the fairies. There were presents under the tree this year instead of by the bedsides, and the brightly wrapped gifts shone as the occasional pink beam shot across one.

They were at Potter Manor, having quickly left Grimmauld Place after a while. Potter Manor looked much better decorated than Grimmauld Place anyways.

"Okay! Who's first to open one?" came James excited question. Everyone was gathered around, including the entire Weasley family (Bill and Charlie excluded, having to work), the entire Potter family, Remus, Sirius, and a reluctant Ice.

"Youngest first," said Lily immediately. James pouted.

"Fine then. Ginny, you're up!" said James, pushing a present towards her. Ginny took it and opened it. It was obviously from Ron, as it was a Cannon poster.

"Thanks," said Ginny, even though she was frowning at the thoughtless gift. Everyone knew that, while Ginny didn't hate the Cannons, she supported other teams over them.

"You welcome," said Ron. The cycle went on for a while; Ginny exclaiming happily over the gift he gave her and Lily bursting into tears when she saw the flawless diamond necklace that James gave her.

After each gift was exchanged, and the colorful paper covered the floor in masses, and everyone was done thanking each other, people began to flood into the Dining Room to eat a delicious breakfast cooked by House Elves.

* * *

Harry listened with amusement as Ice grumbled. _/That was the fourth time someone pushed me off a chair tonight! Do I really look like I'm happy about it?/_

Harry didn't even bother to respond. James was in the corner, being drunk, while Sirius was trying unsuccessfully to flirt with Molly. He was undoubtedly drunk too.

Harry sighed and shifted in his chair. Tomorrow was Umbridge's trial. Everyone had argued over the date, many saying it was too close to Christmas and people should have the time off, but in the end it was decided that it would take place after the official holiday. No other trial was scheduled then, and they could just get it over with.

Harry dreaded going. He really didn't want to recount everything that had happened to him. He wondered what would happen at the trial.

* * *

Ice was just beginning to doze off in a chair when another human came and carelessly pushed him off. It was the one named Ron. Ice had had enough! 

He gave a loud hiss and bit the boy's ankle. Not enough to really hurt him, but enough to sting for at least two weeks.

Ron screamed loudly. Really, Ice thought indignantly, his bites didn't warrant that much noise! His master got much worse sometimes and he never complained!

At once, everyone seemed to be gathered around Ron. Ice began to hurry away, out of the way of feet that threatened to step on him. He didn't get far.

"Ice bit me!" he could hear Ron yelling. Ice picked up his pace, but it was in vein.

He was picked up from his tail. He hissed irritably and snapped at his master who was glaring down at him.

_/Ice, just what do you think you're doing, biting him like that?/_

_/He had it coming. He pushed me off the seat. I'm tired of being pushed around! You and your stupid friends are always stopping me from getting rest/_

_/That doesn't warrant a bite, Ice!/_

_/Are you deaf? Blind? Did you not hear what I said?/_

_/I did, but I still don't think you needed to take such drastic action/_

_/Well, since you're so set against telling them that I hate when they do that, I had to do something/_

_/What are you talking about? You never told me you wanted me to tell them to back off!/_

_/Oh, master, you are as dense as always/_

_/What's that supposed to mean?/_

_/That you're dense/_

His master swatted at him and dropped him to the floor. He gave a hiss and turned away. He wanted some sleep, and he obviously wasn't going to get it here.

* * *

Harry straightened his dress robes nervously. He didn't want to be doing this. He could hear Lily's voice calling him down to get some breakfast before they had to go to the trial. 

He sighed in defeat and looked himself over one last time. His dress robes were a silky purple color, and they were thankfully devoid of any frills.

He hurried down the stairs and into the Dining Room where everyone was waiting. Almost everyone was here. The entire Weasley family (minus the obvious ones of Bill, Charlie, and Arthur, who all had to work), Sirius, Remus, and the Potters. And Hermione as well.

They all stopped talking when they saw him. The air turned thick with tension and Lily broke the silence with a, "We better go."

Everyone nodded and headed towards the fireplace in the Entrance Hall. Lily went first, then James, and so on. Harry was the last one. He arrived, stumbling, out of the other side of the floo. He was coughing as soot was all over his once clean dress robes. Lily wasted no time in waving her wand over him and cleaning him up.

"Come on. We're all going to Madam Bone's room where this will take place," said James. They began to head towards the room… only to find themselves blocked.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" asked Lily frostily at the Aurors who were trying to hold them back from going into the room.

"This room is off limits, miss, until Madam Bones comes back," said one.

"Comes back? What do you mean, comes back?" asked Harry.

"The trial is taking place in Courtroom Ten. It started an hour ago," was the vague reply. Harry exchanged horrified looks with his mother.

They wasted no time in going to Courtroom Ten. They were all horribly out of breath by the time they reached the designated spot. James was absolutely fuming. Harry was no better. Why were they not informed of this?

They didn't bother to knock on the door, instead walking in the room. There was a smile on Fudge's face, which vanished as soon as they came in.

"You're late," he stated coldly. "The trial has already been decided. Dolores Umbridge will get off—"

"Why were we not informed of the change in time and place?" asked James coldly, stepping forward to talk to the Minister.

"An owl was sent to your home to tell you of—" he was again interrupted.

"There was no owl sent to our home. We would have known. You, of course, set this up. You knew that if the time and place were changed we wouldn't make it. You made up the pretense of sending us an owl, and then never did. The excuses you could come up with for that are numerous—bad owl and bad weather, among others. You also knew that if we weren't here, Umbridge's getting off was practically secured," said James.

"How dare you accuse the Minister of such an act!" screeched Umbridge. "He is one of the best men to ever live, and if you think to insult him in such a manor—"

It seemed that James had finally had enough. "SHUT UP! We will resume the trial from the beginning, or we will set another date so that the trial can properly be executed."

"That is impossible," said Fudge blandly. "We have already concluded the case, and we are not about to open it again." All around the Courtroom, the torches flared up for a second. James really was angry.

"It's not impossible. If you would like, do you want me to put a lawsuit against both you and Umbridge?" asked James. Harry almost shivered at the deadly note in his voice. It seemed that Fudge was cowed too, for he paled and began to speak quickly in a high pitched voice.

"This trial shall take place from the beginning," he choked out. James nodded in satisfaction before leading the others to their seats. As Fudge began to read out the necessary stuff, Ginny leaned over to Harry.

"That was intense," she muttered. Harry nodded, and, unable to resist, put an arm around her waist. She gave him an amused glance but let him keep his arm around her.

"I would like to call Harry James Potter to the stand."

Harry slid out of his seat and approached a marked out section of the courtroom and sat down in his chair.

"Will you take Veritaserum?" asked a lady, who was most likely overseeing the trial. Harry guess it was Madam Bones.

"Yes," said Harry. A small bit of muttering came from the audience. Not many people took Veritaserum.

Madam Bones administered three drops before stepping back and beginning her questioning. "You are Harry James Potter?"

"Yes."

"Your parents are Lily and James Potter?"

"Yes."

"Good. It has taken effect. What did Umbridge do to you, exactly?"

"She made me write lines for detention with a blood quill."

"What were these lines?"

"They were 'I must not tell lies,'"

"Had you been lying to her?"

"No."

"Had she done anything else to you?"

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"She tried to hit me with an Unforgivable Curse."

"That's all," said Madam Bones as she quickly poured the antidote down his throat. Harry awoke from his daze to find the Courtroom in loud talking and whispering.

"SILENCE!" roared the lady. Everyone quickly shut up. "I would like to call…"

It went on from there. Harry watched as various people came up, along with many Hogwarts students who got a good view of what had happened. Each piece of evidence seemed more damning then the last.

Finally, "Dolores Jane Umbridge will serve thirty years in Azkaban," said Madam Bones as she then listed the reasons. Harry tuned them out. All that mattered was that Umbridge was gone.

* * *

James was at a loss of what to do. It had been going fine, everything perfect… until Lily experienced her first mood swing of pregnancy. From happiness to sadness. James had never been good with emotions, least of all people who were crying. The most sensitive thing he had ever done when a girl was crying on his shoulder was pat her back and say, "There, there…" and even that had earned him a slap. 

Now, Lily was sobbing her heart out and James didn't know what to do. So what else could he?

"There, there…" he said sympathetically as he patted her back. "It'll be alright…"

"YOU IDIOT!" another mood swing. James almost wished that he hadn't gotten her pregnant.

* * *

Harry listened in amusement as he heard his parents fighting. Their fight wasn't serious, in fact, it was the complete opposite. Lily might be mad, but come ten minutes later she probably wouldn't even remember that she had been mad. Or maybe she would, and she would stay mad at him for days. Harry just shrugged and decided that he would find out in ten minutes. 

He was currently lounging on his bed, ignoring the snake that was urging him to train. Harry smiled at the snake and patted his head, ignoring the snapping of the fangs. He felt content for once, and he wanted to keep it that way. Even if a mean snake wanted to ruin it.

_/Come on, we need to train!/_

_/No/_

_/You idiot/_

_/No/_

_/I'll get you to train eventually!/_

_/No/_

That was what their conversation consisted of. Ice was spitting mad by the time it was done with. Harry was completely ignoring Ice and was about to doze off when he saw it. He had been staring at the Sword of Merlin (he had dropped it by his bedside), about to drop off to sleep, when it pulsed.

Harry jumped up and approached the Sword, all sleepiness and laziness gone. Ice had stopped his complaining to approach the artifact with him. Harry touched it. The Sword pulsed again.

A picture flashed in Harry's mind. It was only for a split second, and Harry was unable to grasp the details of it. All he knew was the place was dark. Very dark. Except for some beautiful gems encrusted in the walls.

_/What did you see?/_ asked Ice excitedly.

_/Nothing, really. Just a dark place with some gems around it/ _answered Harry.

_/You foolish boy!/_ pouted Ice. Harry stopped and stared at Ice. Was he _pouting_? Sure, he had seen him sulk, get angry, and do many other emotions, but pout? Even if Ice had done that he certainly didn't remember it.

Ice seemed to realize the stare that Harry was giving him and shot forward to quickly nip Harry's toe before slithering under the bed to sleep.

* * *

The next day was also lazy and basically a waste of time. Harry knew that he needed this time to recover from the severe exhaustion that threatened him throughout the year. Ice also needed a break because of the curse. 

It almost pained Harry to see his snake like this. Ice used to be a nagging, annoying, sarcastic little familiar. Now he was a tired, nagging, annoying, sarcastic little familiar. And when Ice gets tired, he gets cranky.

Harry had locked Ice in his room for the rest of the day.

* * *

Sirius snuck along the hallway, sneaking glanced behind his back. He hoped no one spotted him. He carefully applied some more of the concoction to it…

* * *

"**_SIRIUS!_**" was the first word out of his mouth when James sat on the chair. For when he went to stand back up, he found his bottom glued to the chair. It was super sticky fast drying glue, and James knew that there was no way he would be getting out of it soon. There was a formula that got rid of this stuff, and he knew that Sirius would have some ready. The only problem happened to be getting the stuff out of his hands and into his own. 

"Yes?" asked Sirius innocently as he walked into the room. Sirius' eyes widened. "Why, James, what _are _you doing stuck to a chair like that?"

"You know damn well…" growled James as he tried fruitlessly to get off the chair. "Give me the formula now, or I will shave all of your hair off while you sleep!"

"It's called a hair growth potion, Jamesie. Your threats no longer work on me," smirked Sirius.

"I heard hair growth potions ruin your hair," said James. Sirius gasped.

"No! My beautiful hair!" he said dramatically, grabbing onto his hair as if that would shield it from getting shaven.

Harry suddenly entered the room, grabbed a chair and began to float it out of the room. He made it seem like going into a room and taking out a random chair was something he did every day. After they were sure Harry was gone, they turned to each other and wondered what had just happened.

* * *

Harry smirked and pushed the chair against the door. He made sure to put a temporary sticking charm on it, and he smiled. They would never get out of the room now. That's what happens when someone disturbs his nap with yells.

* * *

"HEY! LET US OUT!" came the bellows of Sirius. James just sat in the chair, still glued, as Sirius wasted his breath. 

"Let it go. He got us good," said James. Sirius shot James a nasty glare before going back to shouting.

"I think he put a silencing charm around it," muttered Sirius sulkily as he plopped down in a chair.

"Where do you have the antidote to this stuff? I want to get out of it," said James. Sirius shrugged.

"It should be up in my room," he said flippantly.

"Damn," muttered James, resenting letting his son take that chair without asking what he was doing with it.

Sirius smirked at him and tried to stand, only to find himself glued to the seat. At once, Sirius realized his error.

"Oh no! I put glue on all the chairs because I didn't know which one you would sit in!" he wailed. James began to laugh hard.

"Oh… you so deserve this!" he cackled gleefully. Sirius scowled.

* * *

A/N: This is one of my shortest chapters yet, but my writer's block came back in full force. I didn't quite know what to write… 

I have a few things to address. First off, I need to do some serious editing on the earlier chapters. I was planning on editing them all when I finished this and began the sequel, but I would like my reader's opinions. When do you guys think I should start redoing some of this story? I might make some major changes, not many, but some, and a lot of minor ones. It's up to you guys.

Second, I need to address the problem of An Icy Capture. Yes, I still intend to get it out. Writer's block, however, seems to hate me. I have most of it typed out, but I need an ending to it. It should be out soon. I'm sorry it isn't out yet.

Third, which is completely unrelated and unimportant, and if you want to skip this paragraph go ahead, but it was my birthday last Tuesday! I'm fourteen now.

Fourth, the title of this story is beginning to become a problem. **_I will be changing the title of this sometime soon. _**Why? Because it isn't grammatically correct. It should be "Return of the Parents" instead of "Returning". I didn't realize this until a few reviewers pointed it out. I thought I might get away with it, until it became more of a problem. I don't know when I'll get the time to change it, but be warned that it will happen.

Fifth, I still need name suggestions. After much consideration, I realized that flower names might be a bit too cliché for me. I decided, instead, that if it's a girl the middle name will be a flower. I still need a first name though, and I would appreciate some boy names as well. I would like any opinion on this.

Sixth, a lot of you are complaining about Lily. I didn't mean for her to sound so horrible in the latest chapters. She's going through a tough time. She hasn't quite accepted the fact that her son is grown, and she's going to have another baby. She also still has the voice in her head, and many other stressing situations. I know that if I were in her shoes I would be tearing my hair out by now.

So concludes the longest A/N I have ever written.

Review please!


	33. Chapter 33

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 33

* * *

**

Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation as she observed the two sulking individuals. James and Sirius were both glued into chairs, and Harry had stolen the antidote. It would take at least three hours to remake the antidote, and it would be very hard with them stuck on chairs. Lily and Remus both refused to help.

Lily tried to stay exasperated at them, but she couldn't. The picture they made was irresistible; they both had pouts on their faces and looked like kicked puppies. Lily tried to hold it in, but—

"Are you laughing?!" came the indignant voice of James. Lily put her hands over her mouth and shook her head hard, her red-auburn hair whipping around with the motion.

"You are!" exclaimed Sirius. "How could you betray us like that, Lily?" he asked, looking miserable and downcast. Lily didn't buy it for a minute. Her laughter was getting harder to suppress, and finally she had to let it out.

Her laughter came out loud and boisterous. This was just what she had needed to lighten up a little—all the stress from the voice, all the fights, and the pregnancy was soon gone with the tinkling of her giggles.

Her laughter became even louder as the pouting look over their faces grew. She couldn't help but feel mirth at the way they looked. Remus was looking amused too, but he was doing a much better job of hiding it.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to tickle you so badly!" threatened James. Lily simply laughed.

* * *

"Please?" 

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Hell no."

James pasted another pout on his face as Harry still refused to give them the antidote. They were currently sitting (James and Sirius couldn't do much else) in a room that—oddly enough—resembled the Slytherin common room. Harry knew better than to ask.

"I'll give you a sickle!" said James as if it would solve all of their problems. Harry simply raised his eyebrows and began to pull out handful after handful of gold from his pockets. Having a rich father had its benefits, after all.

James frowned and made a mental note not to give Harry as much money as he usually did. That meant he couldn't bribe Harry, and they would have to go to the last resort.

James smiled maliciously and pulled some pictures out from his pockets. He showed them to Harry, whose eyes widened.

"Why do you still have pictures from my birthday spanking?!" he asked as he made a wild grab for them. James held them tauntingly out of his grasp.

"Why, Harry, we would never lose the chance to get something we wanted from blackmail," said James sweetly. Harry narrowed his eyes for a moment, before raising his wand.

"_Accio _embarrassing drunk pictures," said Harry. James curiosity was aroused. He watched as a couple of pictures sped into the room. Harry plucked them deftly out of the air and showed them to James. James choked on air.

"Give me those!" he gasped.

"I don't think so. It was fun to take pictures of you during that birthday party. Convenient that you got drunk, huh?"

"No! Give me those!" said James as he tried to make a grab at them. Harry laughed and held them out of his reach.

"I don't think so," Harry said.

"I have baby pictures of you!" protested James weakly.

"I have some of you too. You should hide the picture albums in better places," said Harry. James gaped at Harry for a few moments. Where was the innocent little child who wanted to learn animagus transformations? Now there was this vindictive little trickster!

"What? Surprised?" asked Harry as he examined his nails in disinterest. "You shouldn't be. You're the one always encouraging my to embrace my Marauder side."

"Don't encourage your side with me! Do it with Sirius!" said James.

"I do, don't worry," said Harry flippantly. James smiled. At least someone had to share his misery.

"Okay, how about we bargain? You give me the antidote, and I won't prank you in retaliation," said James.

"Like I would take your word for it. I heard you say almost the same thing to Sirius once and you pranked him anyways."

"That wasn't in retaliation. I just wanted to prank him."

"Yeah, nice excuse."

"LILY! HARRY'S THREATENING ME!"

"What?!"

"Now, now, children, don't play rough," said Lily as she came into the room with Sirius behind her, hopping all the way.

"Yeah kiddies, we don't want anyone hurt," snickered Sirius. He was at the receiving end of two glares and an amused glance.

"Lily! Tell Harry to give me the antidote!" whined James. It was his last resort.

"Harry, give him the antidote," sighed Lily. Harry began to pout.

"What antidote?" he asked as he quickly put on an innocent face.

"THE ANTIDOTE!" yelled James desperately.

"Oh. That antidote," acknowledged Harry. "I've got it," He slowly got up with the antidote, but suddenly tripped.

"**_NOOOOOOOOOOO!" _**yelled both James and Sirius as they watched, helplessly (ignoring the fact that they both had wands in their hands) as the antidote went flying straight out the window. They sat in a stunned silence until James turned to Harry accusingly.

"You did that on purpose!" he snarled.

"Yeah," said Harry, already heading out the door. Lily patted James sympathetically on the back.

"I'll make the antidote for you, James," said Lily.

"Thanks," muttered James.

* * *

Harry chuckled darkly. That was pretty fun—he never knew he could do something like that. Oh, he had pulled a few pranks ever since his parents had come back, but he never thought that he could have done something like that! He felt very proud of himself. 

Harry opened the door to his bedroom and wasted no time in going over to the bed and flopping down on it. He felt Ice slither onto the bed and curl around his feet.

_/I don't know how I stand your feet. They smell/_

_/Shut up/ _muttered Harry as he swatted at the snake. Ice gave what could be called a laugh and began to slither up Harry's side. Harry decided that having a snake crawling all over you was a weird feeling.

_/When are we going to start Occlumency?/ _came Ice's question. Harry's eyes snapped open from where they were slowly shutting. Ice brought up a good point—they needed to get started on that. The sooner the better.

_/Soon. Now/ _Harry said as he jumped up, grabbing Ice around his middle and dragging him out of the room, ignoring the complaints from Ice.

"Occlumency!" shouted Harry as he burst into the room everyone was currently situated in. Lily looked up, startled, while James and Sirius didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence. Remus was currently trying to read, but, from the looks of him, kept getting interrupted by Sirius.

"Occlumency? Now?" asked Lily. Harry nodded and set the thoroughly irritated Ice on a chair.

_/You can't even bother putting me on a comfortable chair, can you?/ _Ice asked as he slid off the chair and headed towards another one. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to his parents, Sirius, and Remus.

He began to explain Occlumency as far as he knew it. Lily seemed to take everything in like a sponge, as did Remus. Harry had to spend a bit more time explaining it to Sirius and James, who not only didn't get it, but also were trying to ignore Harry for taking away the antidote.

"Will you two listen?" asked Harry for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"No," said Sirius, trying to look enthralled with the chess game he was playing with James but failing.

"You just answered me, so that means you're listening," pointed out Harry. Sirius swore loudly, making Lily give him a nasty look.

Harry shrugged and gave up on the two stubborn adults. Instead, he began to teach Lily and Remus. He could only hope that James and Sirius were listening. Ice was dozing nearby, not giving him any help at all. Harry entertained thoughts of pushing him off the chair for a few moments, before deciding that he wasn't suicidal.

Harry settled down, along with Remus and Lily. Harry retreated into his mind, ready to do Occlumency.

As soon as he entered Hogwarts, he found his thoughts and memories were slightly more peaceful then they were when he had last came here. He chalked it up to having put some away last time.

He began to wander around, and found himself at the Transfiguration classroom. He wasted no time in entering and deciding to fill this room with all the Transfiguration spells he knew.

Harry began to do that, but then the idea that it would be easy to find it there occurred to him. He decided that he would, instead, put thoughts and memories of Quidditch in here. McGonagall was, after all, the one who got him on the team in first year.

It was exhausting, going through all of the thoughts and memories. He could feel himself tiring out after a little while, and finally forced himself out of his mind. He found an excited Lily and Remus waiting for him.

"My mind takes on a meadow!" crowed Lily triumphantly.

"A meadow?" Harry questioned.

"Yes. I've always thought that meadows were peaceful and tranquil, and it doesn't really surprise me that my mind takes the form of one. What's better is that you won't be able to find much in it! You would have to go through every blade of grass, every flower, every cloud, in order to find what you're looking for!"

"My mind takes the form of a forest," said Remus. "It reminds me painfully of the wolf, but it isn't surprising considering I have a natural defense because of the wolf. My shields are already impenetrable, all I need to do is organize my thoughts. They're already very well ordered, another defense I would say,"

"Lucky you. I have to place all of my thoughts and memories in Hogwarts," said Harry dryly.

"Shouldn't we be teaching Ron, Hermione, and all the others this?" asked Lily.

"We probably should," admitted Harry, "but I didn't think of it. I'll teach them later, okay?"

Lily nodded in acceptance. A loud snort broke across the silence, and Harry turned to see Sirius sitting moodily on his chair while James seemed to still be in meditation. Harry raised his eyebrow in question.

"You have all the exciting ones. My mind takes the form of a waterfall," said Sirius. "How girly is that?!"

"But that's so handy and useful!" exclaimed Lily. "You can put everything in separate water droplets, and have everything in certain places, and no one can tell any order because water is always swirling around! You would know, of course, but no one else would!"

"It's girly! I want a new mind!" pouted Sirius.

"Shut up, Sirius," said James gruffly, just waking from his adventure into his mind. "Mine is Potter Manor. No big surprise there."

"See? Even his is better than mine!"

"Shut up, Sirius," said James and Harry at the same moment.

"No! I will not be silenced!" yelled Sirius childishly. Sirius tried to remove himself from the chair again, but to no avail. He glared at the chair moodily, until he brightened. "I have a theory!" he announced.

"Oh?" James stared at Sirius inquisitively.

"Yeah!" and, with that, Sirius proceeded to launch up out of the chair as hard as he could while keeping the chair on the floor. A terrible ripping sound was heard, and then—

"You just had to rip off your pants, didn't you?" said Lily as she covered her eyes from the boxer-clad Sirius who was standing away from the chair proudly.

"I did it!" Sirius yelled out. "Who did it? I did! Who didn't do it? James!"

"That's because I didn't want to walk around nude, you—"

"James! Language!" admonished Lily, cutting him off before he could say the actual swear.

"Wait, do you mean that you don't have anything on underneath your pants?" asked Remus.

"Maybe," said James evasively. Everyone made disgusted faces.

"James, we forbid you from trying what Sirius did," ordered his wife. James pouted.

"Here I thought you wanted to see me like that!" said James dramatically.

"Okay, this is getting gross. I have no desire to see my _parents _talking about this,"

"It's okay, Harry. I'm traumatized too," said Sirius, patting Harry on the back.

"Don't touch me until you change!" snapped Harry as he backed away from the pant-less Sirius. Sirius pouted, before launching himself at Harry.

"I will get my revenge!" he yelled. He tackled Harry around the middle. What Sirius wasn't expecting, however, was that him tackling Harry would have no effect. They stood there staring at each other with Sirius' hands still around Harry's middle.

"Why aren't you on the ground?" asked Sirius calmly.

"Because you're a weak person," replied Harry just as calmly.

"Meanie!" pouted Sirius. Sirius backed away, before holding up Harry's stolen wand triumphantly. "That did serve a purpose!" he cried as Harry grabbed for his wand.

"Give it back!" Harry yelled.

"Never!" cackled Sirius as he began to run out of the room, Harry at his heels. Sirius led Harry on a wild chase all around the Manor, running into rooms Harry had no idea even existed. Sirius once even ran straight through a wall (it took Harry a few moments to figure that out).

Finally, after what seemed like hours (it was only fifteen minutes) Harry was able to capture Sirius. Or corner him.

"Give it now!" Harry snarled as he advanced on Sirius, who was backed up against a wall, his eyes darting around trying to find a way out.

"Never!" he cried again, but more weak this time. Harry, tired of all of the running, finally just launched himself at Sirius, planning on taking it away with brute force. Sirius gave a startled squeak when he saw Harry coming at him. He did the only thing he could—try to dodge around Harry and resume running. He would have made it, too, if Harry didn't have such good reflexes and catch his arm before he could escape.

"Give me it now or else I'll break your arm!" threatened Harry as he held said arm up. Sirius gulped, knowing Harry wouldn't do it, but scared by the threat anyways.

"Your wand is ugly anyways," muttered Sirius sulkily as he threw the wand at Harry.

"Ugly?" questioned Harry. "You call it ugly then give it back to me, while your wand is nowhere in sight and you _still _have no pants on?"

"LOOK! A PURPLE COW!" shouted Sirius, pointing over Harry's shoulder. Harry, unable to resist the temptation, looked behind him. What shocked him most, however, was that there was a purple cow there.

The cow gave a large moo and chomped on something that looked suspiciously like a chair. Harry glanced back at Sirius, only to find him gone. He turned back to the cow, stared at it for a few moments, then shook his head and walked off. He didn't want to know.

* * *

"SIRIUS BLACK, WHY IS THERE A COW IN THE MANOR?!" Lily's shriek reached up to even the tallest of the towers, where Sirius and James were currently hiding. James winced at his wife's voice and shot Sirius a sympathetic look, while Sirius paled and moved a pawn on the chessboard. 

James examined the board, realized Sirius would win, and abruptly knocked it over. "Whoops," he said as the pieces spilled over the floor.

"Hey! You did that on purpose!" complained Sirius. James nodded and began to set up the board again.

James had gotten out of the chair in the privacy of his own room, and when he had successfully put pants _and _boxers on, Sirius had burst into the room, diving under the bed. When questioned why he was underneath it, Sirius had answered that he had conjured a purple cow and Lily would be after him.

James had then quickly hid him in one of the towers. James was no fool—sometimes—and he knew that Lily would be after him too, accusing him of being an accomplice. Which, technically, James was.

So, here they were, sitting in a tower playing chess and cheating at every chance they got. Remus, somehow dragged into this, was sitting serenely in a chair by the window, reading a book.

"Hey, Moony, do you think that Harry is acting strange sometimes?" asked James randomly. Remus looked up from his book, glancing at James once before turning back to the text.

"Not really. Why? Does he seem to be acting weird to you?" Remus answered.

"Well, it's more of just a feeling…" started James, "but just forget it, okay? It must be my imagination."

"It probably is," agreed Remus, turning a page in the book. Sirius glanced up from the enthralling game of chess and sauntered over to Remus.

"What are you reading?" Sirius asked, not noticing James switching around some pieces. Or, if he did, he was just ignoring it.

"A book about dragons," was the short reply that Sirius got.

"Why are you reading it?" asked Sirius, plopping down into a chair next to Remus and leaning over to see the words on the page.

"I want to see the different breeds," murmured Remus.

"You already know all the breeds, except for the extinct ones, that is," said Sirius.

"The extinct ones?" Remus questioned, his attention captured.

"Yeah. Wizards don't talk about the extinct ones—I haven't a clue why. It's just a taboo subject, you know?"

"Can you tell me?" asked Remus.

"I really don't know much about them. Like I said, they're barely ever talked about. The names are never mentioned, that much I know. I think that there are at least four different extinct ones…maybe six? I can't remember, I didn't really listen when my mother was telling me," said Sirius.

"Can you tell me anything else?" asked Remus.

"Why do you have such an interest in dragons?" asked Sirius.

"Um… well, I was thinking I could convince Hagrid to do a small unit on dragons, and I thought I would research some before I asked him, so I could get some good evidence to support why we should teach them," said Remus smartly.

"Oh. Well, there's only one I can remember right now. I think there was a green dragon… maybe? I really can't remember. Oh. I remember that there was a blue one too… a really icy blue…"

"Really? Anything else?"

"No, that's all I can remember," admitted Sirius.

"Do you know anything, James?" asked Remus.

"All I know is that there's a lavender one," said James.

"Wow. I didn't know any of this," muttered Remus. "Isn't there a book on it, or something?"

"Well, there're rumors that there might be. But those have never been proven true or false, so no one really knows. And no one really knows all about the extinct dragons. All anyone really knows is that there were some, at one time," said James.

"Hey! Did you change the board?!"

* * *

Donna woke to a splitting headache. She sat up groggily. She heard a shout, and was suddenly looking into the face of Madam Pomfrey. "Are you okay? Nothing I did would wake you!" 

"I'll be fine," Donna answered. Her head was aching so bad… she couldn't remember what she had been doing to get such a headache and wind up in the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey was asking her question after question, which wasn't helping. She tried to answer them to the best of her ability.

Suddenly, her headache cleared up. She felt fine, and her head felt like it hadn't been hurt in ages. When Madam Pomfrey asked her the question of why had she collapsed, she knew why.

"It was simply exhaustion, Madam Pomfrey. The reason why you couldn't wake me is because my body needed the rest. I will admit, I have been overworking myself slightly…"

Madam Pomfrey tutted and began to force potions down her throat. Donna decided to go along with the nurse. She ignored the nagging feeling that something was wrong with the entire situation. But she could clearly remember how tired she was feeling, and how she had worked herself so much that she needed the rest.

When Madam Pomfrey finally let her out of her clutches, Donna walked back to her office. As she sat down at her desk, she found a cluster of paper and parchment. She began to read through it, disturbed by her wild imagination. After all, she most definitely did not have any of these 'flashbacks', as she called them in her writings. She could, in fact, remember writing them in her spare time! She always did have a large imagination in some things.

Donna rolled her eyes. There was no reason for her to have these useless pieces of writing. They would serve her no purpose, after all. She had no desire to become a writer, and even if she did there was no way jumbled up writing could make it anywhere.

That being decided, Donna cast the parchments into the fire. She leant back in her chair. As soon as she did so, her Dark Mark started burning. Donna wasted no time in jumping up and searching for her Death Eater uniform and mask.

As she finally struggled into the robes, the burning got more insistent. Donna winced at the pain in the tattoo and paled, suddenly realizing that she would not be able to apparate or walk out of the room in Death Eater apparel. She had forgotten for a few seconds that she was in Hogwarts, not her apartment.

Donna cast a large clock over her robes and hid the mask in one of the pockets. She hoped that she would come across anyone as she ran from her rooms, out of the castle. Thankfully, she came across no one until she was halfway across the grounds. There she briefly met the gamekeeper's dog, but he was uninterested in her and was sniffing around a large flower.

Donna kept running until she made it to the edge of the wards. She was totally out of breath, and took a moment to catch it before she apparated. The burning in her mark doubled and she finally just apparated, ignoring the need for more air.

"Master," she muttered respectively as she bowed at his feet. She tried to control her breaths.

"How are you, Donna?" he asked. Donna felt immediate confusion.

"I am fine, my Lord," Donna muttered.

"Good. I had thought that since you collapsed it might have something to do with Dumbledore."

"No, my Lord. I simply overworked myself,"

"Make sure it doesn't happen again," he ordered. Donna nodded. "You are dismissed," he said, waving her away. Donna apparated, content with the knowledge that her Lord had summoned her to make sure that she hadn't been found out.

Donna made her way back to her office. Once again, she met no one there, not even the dog this time. When she got into her room, she instantly changed into normal, everyday clothes and slumped into a chair.

Donna sighed and ran her hand over her face. She was still tired, and she felt confused for some reason. Something was nagging at the back of her conscious, telling her that something was wrong… but that couldn't be right, because everything she needed to know was right here, and it all was perfectly in order.

Donna suddenly got the urge to go over to the cupboard. She gave into the desire after a few minutes and got up. She made her way over to the cupboard and opened it. There sat a large bottle of wine.

Donna frowned. Why would she have wine? She hated wine.

* * *

A/N: I posted the revised edition of chapter one. It's much better—but then again, I did start this story over a year ago, and my writing has improved. There weren't many changes, except for a small change in descriptions and and change here and there in dialogue. 

Good news! **_An Icy Capture _**is finally done and up! It's about Ice, obviously, and how he had gotten in the pet shop where Harry had discovered him.

Please review, and check out **_An Icy Capture_**!


	34. Chapter 34

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 34

* * *

**

It seemed like the rest of the holidays sped by. One moment Sirius was loudly singing off-tune Christmas carols; the next moment Harry was boarding the train back to Hogwarts. They had originally wanted to take the Knight Bus, but Lily vetoed the idea, her face oddly green at the thought.

Arthur had been completely healed. They had found out in an awkward way. Everyone had been in Grimmauld Place (meaning the Potters, the Weasleys minus Arthur, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione), when Snape had come in to report to Dumbledore, who hadn't yet arrived.

_**-Flashback-**_

"James, I swear, when I find you—" muttered Lily as she searched the kitchen. James had decided to pull a nice little prank on her—when she entered the shower this morning, cold water had pelted down upon her and turned her skin a bright shade of blue.

Everyone else present was currently sitting at the kitchen table, sipping at either tea or butterbeer. They were all completely unfazed by this occurrence, for it had happened too many times for them to be stunned.

Molly had just left, saying something mysterious about picking someone up, when Severus Snape had barged into the kitchen. His grand entrance (which consisted of a slammed door) was completely broken when Lily finally found James and James ran right into Sirius, who had a domino effect. After Sirius fell, he grabbed at Harry, whose arms swung and knocked Fred off balance, who didn't fall but decided that it would be fun to anyways. Fred grabbed at George, and George promptly grabbed at Hermione. Hermione gave a small shriek, and didn't pull anyone down with her, but her leg shot out and kicked Ron in the shin, who yelped and jumped around on one foot, clutching his leg, and knocked into Lily. Lily fell backwards onto the stove (which mercifully wasn't on) and a fork flew out of a bowl Lily had knocked over. The fork sped over and poor Snape got a stab right on the arm.

There was silence in the kitchen, only broken by James and Sirius' attempts to cover up their laughter.

"Okay, James, now I'm really going to kill you!" screamed Lily as she lunged forward and grabbed James by the back of his shirt. James gave a very girly scream as Lily dragged him away from the kitchen, leaving it in more silence.

"Well, that was certainly amusing," came the chuckle of Sirius. Almost everyone shot Sirius a very dirty look. Sirius did his best to look innocent, but, as usual, failed spectacularly.

"Black, what is the meaning of this?!" Snape snarled.

"Don't worry, Sev dear, I'm sure that your wound will heal within the hour," assured Sirius.

"Not that!" Snape snapped, walking forward and reaching towards his wand. Sirius' eyes darkened and he stood up from his place on the floor. He too was reaching into his robes.

"That's enough," said Harry in a commanding voice. "How old are you two? Eleven? Twelve?"

"WHAT?!" both Sirius and Snape roared, turning towards a completely calm Harry, who, by this time, had resumed sipping at his tea.

"You are acting like children!" stated Harry as he got out his wand to cast a heating charm on the tea.

"Who are you to judge? You're only fifteen!" snarled Snape.

"I'm fifteen and even I can tell when you two are acting immature," said Harry in a disinterested voice. "It gets boring, seeing you two going at each other at every chance you get. Don't you ever get tired of hating each other?"

"Never," replied Sirius, his wand now in his hand as he turned back to Snape, only to find a wand pointed in between his eyes.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" roared Harry as he jumped up to push them apart. They weren't expected the force that Harry used with them, for one push of his hands had them nicely separated.

"Harry, what do you think you're doing?!" yelled Sirius as he tried to get a good shot at Snape without hurting Harry. Snape looked like he was trying to figure out which curse to use, uncaring as to whether or not it hit the teen.

It was this scene that the kitchen door burst open again and Molly and Arthur entered, Arthur looking proud as he said, "Cured! Completely cured!"

Everyone froze at their entrance. Both Sirius and Snape lowered their wands, not wanting to start with curses now. Harry, glaring at both Snape and Sirius, shot one grateful glance at the Weasleys before resuming his glaring.

_**-End Flashback- **_

It was to Sirius' embarrassment that he had to admit that Harry had effectively stopped the fight (though with a little outside help). Before they could have even raised their wands again, Harry had grabbed both of them and announced that he was confiscating these until he was sure that they wouldn't curse each other.

They still hadn't gotten their wands back yet.

It was to both of Sirius and Snape's fury and humiliation that, even though they were fully trained wizards, they were taken out by a fifteen-year-old, no matter how lucky or powerful said fifteen-year-old was. Snape had kept demanding his wand afterwards, and Harry had finally gone and hid it somewhere in the house.

Harry had retrieved the wands before school started again, however, and Harry slipped Sirius' wand in his hand before getting on the Express. Harry could hear the muffled shouts of Sirius, demanding he got back out there and face him like a man, and Harry resisted going back out there and taking away Sirius' wand again. It wouldn't do for Sirius to be unarmed again.

It was with great reluctance that Harry went to Snape's office that night to return the wand to him. As soon as he knocked on the door, he heard Snape call in a smooth voice for him to enter.

As Harry walked into the room, he wrinkled his nose as he observed the slimy things around the room. "You really need to redecorate," noted Harry.

"As much as your input about my rooms are appreciated, Potter, I would like my wand back," said Snape from behind him. Harry whirled around, not expecting Snape to be behind him.

"How did you get there without me noticing?!" asked Harry, clutching his chest in a hope to calm down his racing heart.

"It's called walking, Potter. My wand, please," said Snape, holding out his hand. Harry frowned and reluctantly dropped the wand in his hand. He immediately dodged the spell that rocketed his way.

"Hey! No cursing the students!" shouted Harry as a stunning spell came at him.

"I wouldn't if said student hadn't taken my wand," snarled Snape as another curse came out of his wand. Harry dodged, but it grazed his side. Harry gave a gasp as a huge cut split open his side.

"What the hell?!" Harry cried as he barely moved out of the way of another curse. "Stop it! STOP IT!"

The curses stopped, however hesitantly. "Detention, Potter, for taking my wand away," said Snape maliciously. Harry shrugged indifferently.

"Okay. What time?"

"Seven o'clock tomorrow evening."

"See you then," and, with that, Harry calmly walked out of Snape's office.

* * *

"He did what?!"

"Calm down, dad, it isn't much," said Harry as he tried to pacify his angry father. Lily was furious also, but not as mad as James, who felt like he had a personal score to settle with Snape.

Remus watched all of this with a calm expression. He knew that it was unavoidable that Harry would have gotten detention, though Harry did do the right thing (even if Harry did seem to overreact a little). He also knew that James would just make the entire situation worse.

"James, that's enough. Take deep breathes," said Remus soothingly. James whirled around, advancing on him.

"You! How can you stand there, so serene, while my son is being attacked by teachers?!"

"James, you're blowing this out of proportion. It was obvious that Snape would have done something in order to pay Harry back, and throwing curses at him and giving him a detention was quite merciful, I think," said Remus. "Now, you need to calm down and think this over rationally without doing something stupid. We don't need another reckless hero." At this last comment, Harry threw him a glare, but said nothing else.

"Harry, you should really get that cut checked out," said Lily suddenly. "Why don't you go to the Hospital Wing?"

"No. My cut will be fine, it's just a minor little scratch—"

"Minor little scratch? Harry James Potter, there is blood all over your robes!" said Lily, beginning to usher Harry out of the room. "No more arguments, it's time to make sure you won't scar because of your stubbornness."

Remus, still watching these events unfold, came to a decision. He got up and swiftly left, heading for the dungeons.

* * *

Hermione tried to add up all of the clues in her head. She knew that Harry had been acting weird lately. In fact, he had been acting weird all year. At first, she had chalked it up to the fact that he had parents. Then, when that excuse became unusable, she had thought that the O.W.L.s were taking their toll on him. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Looking back, she realized that she had been excusing his behavior all year. She had always just brushed it off… but the first true hint that really caught her eye was the scales on his arm. Every once in a while he would come to breakfast with some sort of fur or scales or feathers on him.

This time it was him that made the excuses… 'me and my mom were practicing charms and a spell went wrong' was one of his favorites. Then she went up and asked Lily about it, who was confused. It seemed that Harry had not been practicing charms with his mother.

Then there was his new attitude. He used to be quiet, never wanting to attract attention. Now, attention seemed to follow him everywhere and he couldn't care less. It made her curious as to what changed his personality so much. At first, she thought it was his parents that made him more confident.

But now that she thought about it, she was almost positive that that wasn't it. He seemed more powerful now, almost as if he had done some extra training. And she new that his parents wouldn't want to agree to give Harry extra training, because they were still slightly in denial that their child was fifteen.

Then, she found out that he had had that snake from Diagon Alley with him. At first, she thought that he had left the snake at home, so it came as a shock to her when she found the snake with him.

The snake was very possessive of Harry, that much Hermione knew. When Harry wasn't carrying around the deadly thing, Ice would be protecting Harry's stuff (or sleeping in a place where someone wanted to sit).

Now, after a couple of weeks, Hermione was almost positive that it was Ice that had made Harry more confident. It was like what the snake was saying was making Harry completely immune to insults and gossip.

Though, there were still things Hermione couldn't figure out. Like the voice in her head. She was glad to be learning Occlumency (Harry had filled her in about it). She was trying to organize her thoughts every night (her mind took on the form of an ocean, while Ron's took on the form of the Hogwart's Quidditch pitch).

But now something was wrong with the voice. While the voice in her head was getting a bit softer with her exercises, it was still there. Now, when it would whisper gently at her, it seemed almost off pitch. Sometimes it would be talking in a soothing tone, and then it would suddenly go very high or very low, or sometimes it would repeat itself like a broken record. Sometimes it would be talking then suddenly stop, and sometimes the voice began to talk about things completely different then what she supposed it should be talking about. When the latter happened, the voice would talk about mundane, every day things, and it when it would suddenly realize it was off topic it would stop and begin to say the things it was suppose to.

Hermione wasn't sure what to think anymore.

* * *

Remus knocked on the door of Snape's office. He heard the silky, "Come on," so he obeyed, walking into the office and shutting the door behind him. Snape was at his desk, and had barely looked up before Remus was standing before him.

"Look, I don't care what you have against James. I don't care what you have against Lily. I don't care what you have against Sirius. I don't care what you have against me. I don't care what you have against anyone else. But you will not take it out on Harry," snarled Remus, his voice going lower as he began to show signs that he was really a werewolf.

"I will do what I please, Lupin," Snape also snarled, standing from the chair he was sitting in and leaning over the desk to look Remus in the eye.

"Not if that includes hurting Harry. Haven't you done enough? First you insult the boy for being born by a father who he hadn't even met until this year, then you give him unfair detentions. Now it's getting out of control. I've always stood back and let you and James and Sirius have your stupid fights. I will admit, James and Sirius are a bit immature. But, they aren't as immature as they once were. I wish I could say the same about you."

"Don't you dare judge me, Lupin. You know nothing about me," said Snape darkly, his black eyes glimmering with hate.

"You're right. I don't. But is that really a valid excuse? You knew nothing of Harry, but yet you insulted him as soon as you laid your eyes on him. Instead of keeping an open mind, all you could see was James in Harry, when really Harry is neither of his parents. Instead, he is his own person.

"Yet, you can't seem to understand that. Do you think that boy can help who his parents are? Do you really think he likes the fame?! Do you really think that he wants to be famous for surviving something his parents didn't when he was a child?! Do you think he wants to be praised for something HE DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER?!" Remus roared the last part. Snape had paled sometime during the speech and was back up as Remus prowled closer to the man.

"Would you like to be judged on how your father was, Snape? Would you liked to be compared to him at every possible moment?" Remus asked as he stalked closer and closer. "No. I don't think so. You are Severus Snape, not your father. How about Harry? Is he Harry Potter, or is he James Potter? You decide, Snape, and I hope you make the right choice, for the wrong one might cost you,"

"I will think whatever I want, wolf, and I have nothing to fear from someone like you." Remus was nearer now, almost three feet away.

"Really? Yet, why do you tremble? Why does the scent of fear hang around you? You need to rethink your opinions, Snape."

"And what? Reform them so that you approve? I think not! I am my own man, and I will not bow down to something you want me to believe!"

"You are the most hypocritical person I have ever met. How can you claim to be your own man when you claim Harry isn't? Don't even try to object, I know you think that Harry is his father. HE ISN'T! I'm NOT trying to completely change your way of thinking. I know that will never happen. What I am trying to do is MAKE YOU SEE PAST APPEARANCES!"

Remus had had enough. He had said what he had come to say. He spun on his heel and walked out the door.

* * *

Harry squirmed in his seat, trying not to move as Madam Pomfrey put a bandage on his wound. She gave him a harsh glare as he fidgeted some more, and Harry finally sat still. Until he sneezed, which completely ruined all of Pomfrey's work as he clapped his hands to his nose and the bandages came undone.

"Potter! While you stop moving?! I try, once, to put bandages on the muggle way to see if that will help you learn not to get hurt, and I can't do that with you twitching around!" she snapped as she finally gave up and pointed her wand at his side. Bandages shot out and wrapped around his side obediently.

"Now, if you feel faint or dizzy come back straight away," she said almost pleasantly, as if she had not just been scolding him.

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," said Harry politely while he tuned her out. As she rattled off some information, Harry began to think over what had happened. A lot of stuff occurred this past month or two. Arthur was attacked, he and Ginny became an official couple, his family and friends began to learn Occlumency…

"Potter! Are you listening to me?!" came the angry voice of the matron.

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey," said Harry instantly.

"Oh really? Then what did I just say?" she asked.

"Um… that I should come back soon to get the bandages off?" guessed Harry. When Madam Pomfrey blinked, Harry cheered inside. He knew from the expression on her face that he had gotten it right.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. You can go now," she said. Harry didn't need it said twice. He was out of there before Madam Pomfrey could even think about changing her mind.

* * *

_He was angry, so angry that his hand was clenching his wand in anger and his knuckles were somehow turning even paler then they were. "You failed again!" he snarled at the man cowering on the floor. "Not only did you fail to kill Bode, but you failed to acquire the prophecy, even after I gave all the tools you needed!"_

_"But, my Lord, please… I didn't think that Potter would figure out the plant…"_

_"That is not an excuse!** Crucio!**" came the reply. The figure on the floor began to scream and writhe._

_"That is enough," he snapped. "I tire of your failures, Weasley,"_

_The mask of the Death Eater slipped off to reveal the pale face of Ronald Weasley._

Harry woke up so suddenly that he shot out of bed. He looked wildly around before jumping up and running over the Ron's bed and tearing open the curtains. Harry could hear his other dorm mates stirring, but gave them no attention. Ron's bed was empty.

Harry ran down the stairs to the common room, ignoring the sleepy questions from Dean and Neville. He skidded to a halt near the fire, where he found Ron curled up on a couch with Crookshanks on top of him.

"Ron!" said Harry sharply, and Ron started awake.

"Wha?" he moaned sleepily. "Oh, Harry. Go back to sleep. It's too early to be getting up…"

"Ron, let me see your left arm," said Harry, already reaching out to grab it.

"What?" Ron, fully awake now, extended his arm for Harry to see. Harry sighed in relief as he found no Dark Mark emblazed upon it. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"It's nothing," said Harry, suddenly feeling foolish. He should have known that Ron would never have gone Dark. It must have been a false vision, or something. He would ask Ice about it. "Just a bad dream. Come on, Ron, you should get to bed."

Ron agreed. They went back to the dormitory. Both were relieved to see that the boys had gone back to sleep; Harry was relieved because he wouldn't have to answer questions, Ron because he would get to bed sooner.

Harry slowly fell back into sleep, his mind still turning over the vision in his head.

* * *

_/A false vision. Now that I think about it, I did feel someone testing the barriers around your mind last night. I had just brushed off the threat, thinking nothing of it because they seemed to have no malicious intent. I am sorry, master, I should have been more careful/_

_/No malicious intent? This is Voldemort we're talking about!/_

_/I believe there is something wrong. I have barriers around your mind, and yet he can still break in. Why would that be, I wonder…/_

_/What do you mean?/_

_/Well, technically he shouldn't be able to break in. My barriers are nearly impenetrable. So, I wonder if it is either the connection that you two share, or is it because you haven't quite sorted your thoughts and therefore he can break in easier…? Master, I must ponder about this for a while/_

Harry frowned at Ice. Ice seemed a little worried. Harry knew that something like this must be out of the ordinary by the way his familiar was acting.

_/Will everything be all right?/_

_/Most likely, so you shouldn't worry, master. If anything it's because I was tired and angry last night that that stupid cat decided it wanted to chase me/_

_/Don't be a grump, Ice. It creates too many problems for us/_

_/Master, I can't help it. It would be like telling you to stop saving people. Around all these stupid people, I can't help getting annoyed while you can't help saving them/_

_/They aren't stupid!/_

_/Says the man who walked into a tree this morning/_

_/That was an accident, and I was thinking. How was I to know that there would be a tree there?/_

_/Master, there are few trees on the grounds other then the Whomping Willow and the Forbidden Forest. Do you really think that you can claim ignorance?/_

_/Yes, I can, because it's true!/_

_/Don't delude yourself, you silly boy/_

_/At least you didn't call me a stupid boy/_

_/Oh, I'm sorry. Don't delude yourself, you stupid boy/_

_/…you're impossible/_

_/Yes/_

Harry gave a small impatient huff and began to walk away, tired with the conversation. Ice began to slither next to him. They walked/slithered along silently. They were in the Chamber of Secrets.

_/Have you made any more progress with your animagus forms?/_

_/Not that I really know of/ answered Harry. Ice seemed to give a small sigh._

_/Are you sure?/_

_/Yes/_

Was it just him, or did Ice seem all the more worried?

* * *

James and Sirius stood outside the Great Hall. They were hidden in the shadows. Harry hadn't come down to breakfast yet, though he wasn't in his bed. They were waiting for him so he could witness what was about to happen.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he came down the stairs and entered the hall. Sirius and James waited a couple more minutes before nodding to each other.

It was time.

They both burst into the Hall dramatically, with the doors banging open ominously and bouncing off the walls. James and Sirius were insulted that barely anyone even looked their way.

"EVERYONE FREEZE! THIS IS A HOLD UP!" shouted Sirius as he held up the water gun. He imitated some movies he saw that had bank robberies in them as he aimed the gun around the Hall.

This did get people's attention. The muggleborn's promptly screamed and fell to the floor, while the purebloods and others who had been raised in magical families were confused.

Harry continued eating breakfast, knowing that whatever they were doing was not serious.

"DOWN ON THE GROUND, EVERYONE!" yelled James to the nearly silent Hall. This time people silently obeyed, the only ones who didn't was Harry, everyone at the staff table, and a couple of Slytherins.

James aimed the gun at one of the Slytherins and pulled the trigger back. A large burst of water hit the boy right in the nose.

People, seeing that this was a prank, began to get back up, talking about what had just happened. Sirius exchanged distressed looks with James.

Were they losing their touch? People had barely even reacted! This called for some heavy duty pranking.

* * *

A/N: Well, I included some of Hermione's and Remus' POVs in there. I'm trying to put more variety in this story by including more insight on to what other characters are thinking. Tell me what you think of that.

Also, I know I said this last chapter, but **_An Icy Capture_ **is up. I would really appreciate it if you would give me some feedback on that story too. If barely anyone reviews, then I won't make any more side stories.

Please review!


	35. Chapter 35

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 35

* * *

**

That morning, when Lily woke up, she was faced with the highly unusual sight of being alone in bed. Usually it was her that woke James up (after shouting in his ear, of course). So, after blinking a few times in astonishment, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and forced herself up.

She tiredly walked out of her room to find Sirius and James, whispering to each other in the corner. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked at them. They were looking entirely too innocent.

"What are you two planning?" asked Lily as she marched up to them. They both looked up in unison, looking as if they had been caught in the act of stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"Nothing, Lily," said James in a falsely sweet voice. "How could you suspect us of anything?"

"Simple. I do," was the response he got. He pouted, trying to make himself look cute.

"But Lily, we never do anything wrong…"

"Is it a prank? Against who?" asked Lily, leaning forward.

"It's not a prank, Lily…" said Sirius soothingly, holding up his hands. "It's simply a… _show_ that might make a couple people laugh."

"Does it involve Snape in anyway?"

"No, don't worry Lily…"

"Damn."

"What?!"

"I wanted to prank him," said Lily.

"_You _wanted to prank _Snape_?" asked Sirius incredulously.

"Yes. I know I've defended him before, but he's gone too far now," said Lily decisively. "No one hurts anyone in my family like that and gets away with it."

"Well, this prank doesn't really involve Snape…"

"Then I'm not interested, and I'm going to pretend I didn't see anything," said Lily as she headed back to her room.

* * *

As Harry came down to breakfast that day, he found the disturbing sight of James and Sirius huddled in one corner of the Hall. Many people were throwing them suspicious glances. 

Harry contemplated turning around, but decided against it. He wanted to see what they had planned. He would not, however, touch any of the food.

A few moments later, Harry was regretting that decision. Apparently, the food was what _kept _you from getting pranked, in this case. Otherwise, handcuffs were appearing all around the hall, snapping onto the hands. Some handcuffs would snap onto one person's wrist, only to drag said person across the Hall and snap onto another's.

And, since barely anyone ate the food (being rightfully suspicious), a lot of handcuffs were appearing. Thankfully, people were only getting handcuffed to their year mates. Ginny got handcuffed to Colin Creevey, Ron got handcuffed to some Hufflepuff, Hermione got handcuffed to Dean, and Harry got handcuffed to…

Draco Malfoy. Of course.

Harry swore very loudly when he saw who's hand he was connected to. "You have to be joking," muttered Harry as he stared at the handcuffs attaching them. Malfoy was looking just as furious.

"When my father hears of this—"

"No one cares," said Harry shortly, already dragging Malfoy across the hall to get to his father. Malfoy spluttered indignantly for a moment, before he seemed to collect himself.

"I demand that—"

"And still, no one cares," said Harry again. Pink patches began to appear on Malfoy's cheeks at being dismissed so easily. Harry, thankfully, reached his father by this time. "Dad! Get these things off of us!"

"What? Why would you suspect us?!" asked James, blinking slowly, as if he couldn't figure out why Harry would think him suspicious.

"Because you always do this kind of stuff. Now get these off of us. _Now_."

"Sorry Harry, we can't do that," said Sirius brightly.

"You see, the handcuffs stay on for two hours. There isn't any other way to get them off. So, that being said, good luck!" chipped in James cheerily. The two skipped, _skipped_, off, leaving Harry gaping after him and a load of students groaning.

* * *

Her eyes set on the goal, she marched forward with a determined stride. The two stopped what they were doing, blinking up at her. 

"We weren't doing anything wrong! I think," he exclaimed.

"We weren't," the other confirmed.

"Right," he nodded, as though all of this made sense.

"I'm not here to get you in trouble. I just want to set up a… prank," she said. The two blinked up at her with astonishment.

"You?! A prank?!" they both yelped at the same time.

"Yes. A prank. Against a certain someone…"

"Please, fill us in!" they both said again at the same time.

Lily, Fred, and George both leaned their heads in as they began to whisper about the possibilities.

* * *

"I need to go to my class, which is this way!" Malfoy said stubbornly, trying to drag Harry up the stairs. 

"And I need to go to my class, which is _this _way," said Harry just as stubbornly, trying to pull Malfoy in the opposite direction.

"My class is more important!" snapped Malfoy.

"Malfoy, you think your _hair _is more important then class work. You just want to argue with me," said Harry tiredly.

"That's not true!" protested Malfoy.

"Okay. That's it," muttered Harry. This time he began to literally drag Malfoy to his class. Malfoy made a couple of painful gasps, indicating that his pulling was hurting Malfoy's wrist. Harry couldn't bring himself to care about it.

"Stop whining!" Harry ordered stubbornly as Malfoy made a particularly loud whimper. Harry wouldn't had thought the Malfoy would complain this much in front of an enemy, but the again, he guess that he was pulling a bit hard… not that he would go any softer.

"Stop pulling me then!" snarled Malfoy, pulling on the handcuffs to get Harry to stop. It didn't work; Harry kept going.

"If you had just agreed to go to my class…" Harry trailed off, letting Malfoy fill in the blanks. Malfoy gave a sound of annoyment and began to pull back on the handcuffs. Harry just began to yank Malfoy along harder.

"How are you so strong?!" asked Malfoy, giving up trying to get Harry to stop.

"How are you so weak?" Harry shot back.

"I'm not weak!" shouted Malfoy, attracting a couple of people's attention.

"Sure doesn't look like it," observed Harry.

"Shut up!" snarled Malfoy. He was glaring daggers at the back of Harry's head, and Harry could practically feel the hate coming from the boy. Harry shrugged his shoulders and kept walking, though he did stop dragging Malfoy along so hard and roughly.

They reached his class (transfiguration) and sat down in his normal seat. Harry and Malfoy had a small argument on where they would sit (Malfoy wanted to sit in a different section then the one where the Gryffindors sat) but in the end Harry won.

As soon as Professor McGonagall called the class to order, she looked around at the mismatched students. Hermione was there, but Ron wasn't. Sean and Neville weren't there either.

Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared at the sight of so many of her students missing, and a couple of people who weren't supposed to be there. She seemed angry.

"Ignoring the current predicament," she said tightly, "we will be studying the…"

As she began to go on about the spell that they would be studying, Harry found himself spacing out. Malfoy seemed to be doing the same. He, Harry supposed, would hear this two times. Once now and once in his normal class.

Harry tuned into McGonagall for a few moments before tuning right back out. The spell that she was talking about was boring; Harry had already been taught it by Lily. Malfoy seemed to be in the same mind as him.

Harry and Malfoy were able to get through that class because of an unspoken truce. As unlikely as it seemed, both knew that there was no way that the handcuffs would come off early. So, instead of being bored the entire class, they played a game of hangman that Malfoy seemed to win every time.

* * *

"Harry, you can't expect miracles," said Ginny soothingly as she sat down next to him in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry's eyes snapped open and Ginny almost wished they hadn't. Not only had his hair changed, his hands changed to paws, grown a tail, and had patches of fur all over his body, but now his eyes had changed as well. 

His eyes, once a beautiful emerald green, had retained that color. However, the eyes themselves had changed into a lion's eyes, giving them a fierce look that seemed to make Harry look dangerous.

Not that Harry's looks weren't already dangerous. Harry had really changed from what he had been in the summer. In the summer he had been a short, thin, and pale individual. Now, his entire appearance was different.

He had grown a few inches, giving him the average height of boys his age. His hair, once short and messy, had grown out a little, making it look less messy. His skin, once pasty, had gotten nicely tan. His muscles, none existent in the summer, were now obvious. They were not the muscles of a body builder, they just seemed to scream, "Don't mess with me".

His thinness had also gone away. Now he looked healthy, though still slightly underweight. His hand-me-downs from Dudley were completely gone, giving him a better look.

Ginny couldn't help sighing. All in all, Harry looked very good. Instead of a handsome, mature look, or an angelic heartbreaker look, Harry had a roguish look that seemed to attract people to him.

And Ginny happened to be dating this person. She smiled as Harry stared up at her in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'I can't expect miracles'?" asked Harry quizzically.

"You're trying too hard. I think you're taking on too much Harry… and the amount of sleep your getting is dangerous. If I was you, I would have collapsed by now," said Ginny, running a hand through Harry's hair. Harry leaned into the touch, seeming the think about what she said.

"I'm not sure why I'm able to stay up as late as I have been," admitted Harry. "I've been chalking it up to the magic around here, but now that I think about it, I don't think that's the case."

"Well, what could it be?" questioned Ginny.

"I don't know," said Harry. "I did get a lot of sleep over the holidays, so I feel much better. More alert and ready to take on anything,"

"Of course. When you get a good night's sleep a lot of time you feel like that," said Ginny brightly. She kept stroking his hair, ignoring the numerous knots in it and the fact that it still resembled that of a lion's.

"I should sleep more," observed Harry.

"Amazing. I've never heard a smarter statement," said Ginny sarcastically. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Ginny down into his lap unexpectedly. Ginny gave a little squeak of surprise as she was forced to sit down on him.

"That wasn't nice," said Harry, hugging her close.

"No fair, giving me a hug and making me feel guilty," said Ginny sulkily.

"Sorry," said Harry brightly.

"And you need to change back! Do you know how weird it is for me to feel, instead of your hands, a couple of lion's paws?" said Ginny. Harry smiled and began to poke her face with said paws. The fur on it tickled her nose, and she sneezed. Harry gave a small laugh, because her sneeze seemed very feminine. Ginny blushed slightly.

"Why don't we practice Occlumency?" suggested Harry. Ginny gratefully grabbed onto an excuse to get out of this uncomfortable situation.

"Okay!" she said as she got off of Harry's lap and scooted farther away. Harry, after closing his eyes, began to change back. Before long, the only thing that remained was his eyes. No matter how hard Harry seemed to concentrate, they wouldn't go away.

"Damn," muttered Harry, trying harder to get them to disappear. They shifted a little back to their normal form, and they slowly changed back. Ginny watched this all with a lot of interest. She had barely made any progress on her own form; it was much harder for her then Harry.

Ginny settled into her meditative form and slipped into her mind. She found the Burrow right away, and walked into the house. She narrowly avoided getting hit by a memory. She began to wander around, wondering what she should do.

She decided to start with some easier memories. She decided to put all of the memories of her mother in the kitchen, because that was where she had seen her the most.

She went through memory after memory of her mother, and was reminded of how very kind her mother was. Ginny, after seeing all of her memories, could admit that she did take her parents for granted a lot of times. Ginny decided to change that as soon as she could.

One particular memory seemed to stand out, though in the long run it was insignificant.

_**-Flashback-**_

_"Mummy, I had a nightmare!" a six-year-old Ginny cried to her mother. Her mother, sitting in the kitchen, smiled softly at her only daughter._

"_Come here, Ginny. Do you want to talk about it? It's always better that way," said Molly._

"_It had a broom in it, and Ron was falling off of it, and I couldn't catch him!" sobbed Ginny, climbing into her mother's lap and clutching onto her nightdress. _

"_Don't worry, dear, we wouldn't let Ron fall off of his broom. Even if he did ever fall off, someone would catch him. You wouldn't have to worry about it," said Molly soothingly as she rocked the child a little. _

"_But mummy, I still feel really scared! It seemed so real…"_

"_Do you want some hot milk?" asked Molly. "I can warm some up for you."_

"_Yes, please," sniffled Ginny. Molly gave another smile and began to bustle around the kitchen, preparing some hot milk to soothe the child with. Ginny watched this process carefully. "Mummy, can I ask you a question?" she finally said. _

"_Of course," said Molly. _

"_Why were you awake when I came down here? I thought you would be in bed," said Ginny. _

"_I just had a feeling that it would be important to be down here. I'm sure you'll understand if you ever have kids," said Molly as she set down a warm mug of milk in front of Ginny. Ginny nodded, though she didn't understand, and began to drink her milk. _

_Molly began to hum, and that combined with the milk made Ginny feel sleepy. Her eyes dropped a little. Next thing she knew, her mother was carrying her up to bed. _

_**-End Flashback-**_

Ginny knew that there were other memories like this one. But for some reason, this particular one seemed to touch her more then the others. She resolved to help her mother more in the future.

* * *

Harry was sorting his memories too. It had taken many nights and practice sessions to finally get through all of his quidditch memories. Now he was ready to finally move on. 

He walked around Hogwarts for a moment. He couldn't decide what to do next. Before long, he stopped in front of the Charms room. He stared at it thoughtfully for a moment.

He decided to put all of his dueling memories in this room. It was said that Flitwick was a Master at dueling, so it made sense. At least to Harry it did. Memories were already lining up to be looked through.

Harry sighed as he stared at all of the thoughts and memories. He really should try to stop getting into so many duels and fights.

* * *

Sirius walked into one the weirdest scenes that he had ever seen in his life. Lily, Fred, and George were hovering over a piece of paper, discussing something. Sirius' eyes widened then narrowed as he strode forward to find out what they were doing. 

Lily saw him coming first. As soon as she whispered something to the twins, the paper was gone and they all turned to him, innocence in their eyes and gazes. Sirius wasn't fooled. He had given that look enough times to realize when it was being used against him.

"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Fred quickly.

"Okay," Sirius shrugged. If they didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't push them. It would come out eventually.

"Okay? That's all?" said George.

"Yep," said Sirius cheerfully, already halfway out the door again. Sirius turned back for one last glance and saw that they were discussing the paper again.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Harry walked into the Great Hall and promptly walked back out again. Ginny, who was walking next to him, erupted into giggles. Ron and Hermione (both were walking behind him) peered into the room, and then withdrew their heads, trying to stifle laughter. 

"Your father and Sirius strike again," said Ron.

"I guess," said Harry tiredly. Knowing it couldn't be avoided forever, he walked into the room.

Snape was dressed in a cupid's outfit. It was vividly pink, to the point where it would hurt your eyes just to look at it. He had a small quiver of arrows on his back, all of which had golden hearts at the end instead of an arrowhead. All over his cupid outfit (which happened to be a dress) there were hearts. Inside the hearts there was written, **I Love H.P.**

"Where are they?" Harry asked angrily as he scanned the Hall, looking for his father and Sirius. They were nowhere to be found.

They came in at that exact moment. They were chatting about something, but their conversation died off when they saw Snape. They both gaped for a moment before dissolving into laughter.

Harry stomped over to them and towered over them, his arms crossed. "What is this?" he demanded.

"Cupid… paper… schemes…" wheezed Sirius.

"What?" asked Harry, his eyebrows raised.

"It wasn't us," said James, gaining enough breath back to say a full sentence.

"It… was… Lily… and… her… paper…" said Sirius, taking deep breaths between words.

"It was mum? Are you out of your mind?!" Harry chuckled.

"No! It was her and the twins!" said James.

"Like I believe that," said Harry.

"It's true!" said James. Harry simply shook his head and walked off. Up at the Head Table, Lily smiled. After all, who would suspect the one who defended Snape?

* * *

Another prank was pulled the next day. Snape, walking out of the Great Hall, tripped. He didn't just fall. Instead, as soon as he hit the floor, he began to roll. He rolled right up the stairs and into a side corridor. People around him were laughing at the sheer humor of the joke, and because Snape looked so ridiculous. 

Harry once again turned to James. He, once again, said he was innocent. Because he said this so many times Harry didn't believe him.

* * *

Yet another prank was played the next day. Not just one, but two. One played by James, and one by Lily (though no one knew it was her). James' prank was on the whole school. When the owls came in, they were all wearing the underwear of the recipient. One owl, instead of underwear had on some… _feminine _items. 

Lily's prank was on Snape again. Snape, this time, was wearing a nurse's outfit. He was carrying around a very large needle on a large shot. Whenever a student said his name, he would give himself a shot. The shot wasn't anything bad, but it did give him a painful little sting. When students found this out, he was giving himself a shot every moment. His arm was numb by the end of the day.

* * *

The next day people waited with baited breath for the next prank. They weren't to be disappointed. There were two pranks again, one on Snape (Lily's) and one on Mrs. Norris. 

The one on Snape made him act completely out of character. Whenever he would say an insult, instead a compliment would come out. Whenever he tried to sneer at someone, or smirk, it came out as a smile or a laugh. Whenever he tried to take points from someone, instead he gave points. He tried the opposite (like give points, or give a compliment) but it backfired on him. Instead of giving the child five points and hoping that it would take away, instead it doubled the points given. And when he tried to give a compliment instead his compliments got more and more flattering. Whenever he tried to just wipe his face blank of all emotion, instead he began to laugh hysterically.

James' prank on Mrs. Norris was quite funny to the students, though not to Mrs. Norris or the caretaker. James had put some kind of spell on Mrs. Norris to attract male cats to her. All day cats were running up to her, and practically stalking her. Mrs. Norris was running around all day, trying to avoid cats that were all trying to get her attention at once.

The prank war continued. It became the topic of most student's conversations. Everyone would wonder what would happen next. It became known that James and Sirius were pulling one of the pranks, but the other was unknown.

At least there wasn't a day without activity anymore.

* * *

A/N: A short chapter, I know. But you're going to have to deal with it. I would appreciate it if people suggested prank ideas to me. I'll give you some credit in my A/N if I choose to use your idea, or some of your idea. 

I would like some feedback on how these past few chapters have been. I've been going through an intense writer's block, and since I've been writing these past few chapters during it, I would like to know how they were. Boring? Funny? Pointless? As good as the rest of the chapters? You tell me.

Please review!


	36. Chapter 36

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 36

* * *

**

Harry gave a loud, hacking cough. Lily and Hermione kept shooting him concerned looks and Ginny was glaring. Lily and Hermione kept insisting that he go to the hospital wing to get something for his cold, but Harry didn't want to. He and Ginny had had a huge fight about it, and some of the things that were said were pretty harsh.

**_-Flashback-_**

_"Harry, you've got to go to the hospital wing," said Ginny, going straight to the point as she sat down next to him in the common room. Harry was scribbling down facts for a Potions essay, and was barely even listening to her. He made a vague noise of consent. Ginny's face began to turn red as she realized that he wasn't even listening to her. _

_"Harry, are you even listening to me?!" she asked, feeling a little insulted that he would brush her off like that._

_"Of course," he said absentmindedly._

_"Then what did I just say?" she asked heatedly, glaring at him. It was this moment that he looked up from his homework and blinked at her._

_"Hi, Ginny. When did you get here?" he asked, already going back to his homework._

_"Harry James Potter! Will you listen!?" she snapped, feeling angrier by the second. Harry made another noise of consent, showing that he was, once again, barely listening to her. _

_"That's it!" she snarled and grabbed his homework, ignoring the large inkblot that had fallen onto his carefully written homework. This time it was Harry who was glaring._

_"Ginny! I need to turn that in tomorrow!" he snapped. "Now I have to redo the entire thing, and it had taken me two hours just to get where I was!"_

_"You should have thought of that before you didn't listen!" said Ginny, her face aflame amd temper near exploding point. _

_"Well, I only had a few more sentences to go! You didn't need to take it away!" said Harry, standing up and grabbing his homework back. "You do realize how much work I have to do, right?"_

_"You're always working! Don't you ever take a break? It's like you don't even know how to have fun anymore! You've turned into a workaholic! Not only that, but you haven't even been sleeping well. How are you still conscious?"_

_"Let's take this somewhere else," suggested Harry, seeing that they were attracting attention from the surrounding tables._

_"Fine," said Ginny, getting up and stomping over to the portrait hole. Harry followed, uncaring of the curious eyes that followed them. Ginny led them over to an unused classroom and carefully locked the door behind them before setting up a basic charm that alerted them if anyone came within ten feet of the door._

_"Now, what's this all about?" asked Harry tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he stared at Ginny._

_"It's about your work! Your cold! Your life!" she said, pacing around the classroom angrily._

_"What?" questioned Harry, confused as to what was going on._

_"All you do is work! Work work work! You barely smile anymore, because all you do is train with Ice, or Lily is tutoring you, or you're working on your homework, or you're studying for O.W.L.s, or you're working on something else!" said Ginny heatedly. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny went on._

_"Not only that! But you have a cold now! You're sick, and you don't even care! You're exhausted, drained, and sick but you don't even act like it! In your world, everything is fine! If you don't get the cold treated, there is a possibility that it could turn into something more!_

_"And you're so exhausted ALL THE TIME! You never seem to sleep—you get a good five hours every night! Maybe a couple more or a couple less, and you sleep okay on the weekends! But it's a miracle you haven't collapsed!_

_"And your training—you could get really hurt! Ice can't communicate with anyone—no one else knows Parseltongue, and yet you still play around with swords every night, uncaring of the consequences! Ice won't be able to tell anyone that you're bleeding, possibly dieing, if he needed to!_

_"And you've been neglecting us, Harry. We barely even KNOW you anymore because you're always doing something! When was the last time you just sat down and talked with us?" she finished, panting heavily. Harry watched her with emotionless eyes until she was done. As she turned to him expectantly, Harry began to speak._

_"First off, where do you get off, telling me this? So I work a lot. You're ignoring the fact that I need to—Voldemort is on the loose! I could die tomorrow because I didn't train tonight! And I need to keep up with my schoolwork because it's very important to my mother. She wants me to get a good job when I'm older!_

_"I love my mother very much, Ginny. I would do a lot for her and dad, even if it meant taking time out of my schedule to be tutored by Lily, or plan pranks with my dad. You seem to forget that they came back only months ago! You've had your parents all your life, at least let me appreciate mine!_

_"My cold won't turn into anything else, simply because it's a cold! All I've been doing is coughing or sneezing—it's not like I'll die from it. And of course I'm exhausted! I'm always doing something! Tutoring, training, or being in useless fights with you! Nothing in my world is fine or perfect—far from it, in fact. I still have Voldemort and his Death Eaters in my world, if you haven't noticed, not to mention all the other problems I've been having!_

_"My exhaustion isn't normal—I should have been, in all reality, collapsed in the hospital wing numerous times now! But I haven't been, so I'm not even going to think about it!_

_"My training is necessary—I don't know how many times I've tried to get this through your skull! I need to train to defeat Voldemort, and I need to learn how to defend myself against threats! So what if I get hurt? Ice is there, and even though he can't go for help, he still has healing properties in his saliva…I think it's his saliva… well, he has healing properties!_

_"And I haven't been neglecting you! I talk to you guys all the time. Just because I don't spend every minute of the day with you guys like I used to doesn't mean that I haven't been paying attention to you! I've been busy, Ginny, and if you can't accept that fact then this relationship won't work!"_

_After all this was said, both just stood staring at each other for a few moments. Then Harry spoke again._

_"I'll be honest with you, Ginny. You've been pretty pushy lately—to the point where it's frustrating. Can you give it a break for a while? I'm tired of having to deal with not only all my other work, but also more work from you. It seems like I'm putting forth all the effort into the relationship… which has barely even formed yet, might I add," said Harry._

_"So you're saying that you want to break up with me?" asked Ginny._

_"No. I don't. I just wish you would stop acting so childish," said Harry, rubbing his eyes again._

_"Fine," sniffed Ginny as she turned on her heel and ran out of the room._

**_-End Flashback-_**

Ever since that fight, things had gone downhill for Harry. Ron had immediately taken his sister's side in the fight, agreeing with her that Harry had been neglecting them. Hermione had stayed neutral, not wanting to get involved. She would spend equal time with both of them, and they would stay away from the topic of the fight.

Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus all agreed with Harry, which Harry was very thankful for. With him and Ginny not speaking, he was spending more time in Marauder's Quarters with them. Lily, however, did take Ginny's side on one point of the fight.

"Harry, please go to the hospital wing! I don't want the cold to turn into something worse," Lily begged him.

"No! My cold will probably be gone in a few days!" said Harry. "Then I'll have wasted all of this effort on doing something useless while I could be doing something productive!"

"Harry, you sound like Remus. You don't really want to go to the hospital wing, and instead do 'something productive'. Of course, Remus really has no choice but to go there, but he avoids it whenever he can. Please, Harry, I don't want you to get sicker!" said Lily.

"I'll be fine," assured Harry. Lily didn't look convinced, and Harry had a feeling she wouldn't let it drop.

* * *

By the time the week was over, Harry had stopped speaking to Lily as well. Instead, he began to spend more and more time with James, surprisingly enough. Harry was pleasantly shocked to find that his father could actually be mature for once.

His father, after listening carefully to all that was happening (with some details omitted, of course, as he couldn't tell him about the training. The same went for Ron and Hermione and anyone else he had told), sat back and considered it all carefully before stating what he thought.

"I think that both of you are in the wrong, Harry. Ginny is wrong for accusing you of working all the time and neglecting your friends and family. Harry, you are in the wrong for telling Ginny that your exhaustion and cold are problems that shouldn't be worried about," said James. Harry processed this statement before saying anything.

"So… basically you think I'm wrong on the accounts of the cold and exhaustion?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Harry, it barely takes any time to go to Madam Pomfrey and ask for something for your cold. It isn't like a major injury—she won't keep you for days. It'll probably be one potion. And your exhaustion can turn into something serious. If you overtax yourself too much, you could end up unconscious for days," said James.

"I see what you mean," said Harry slowly.

"And Ginny is wrong for telling you that you're neglecting your friends and that you're working all the time. I will admit, you do work a lot. But it's not a huge problem. Working can be good, as long as you still have some fun. Try to keep it balanced. And she's wrong for telling you that you've been neglecting us, because you haven't. You've just been busy, but you have been making an effort to try to include us," said James.

Harry, seeing things much clearer now that he had talked to James, smile. "Thanks dad! I never knew you could say something smart!"

James simply smiled.

* * *

After the talk with his father, Harry had promptly gone to the hospital wing to get his cold cured. It was much easier then Harry had thought—the entire process only took a few minutes. Madam Pomfrey only gave him a potion, which he drank, and he began to feel better immediately.

Harry had gone to his mother and apologized for worrying her. He did not, however, go to Ginny and apologize. He felt that he had nothing to say to her until she came to him, which looked like it wouldn't be anytime soon.

In the mean time, the prank war was still going on.

That morning, there had been a very… different prank. The two teams had called a temporary truce to pull this one off. It was a skit reenactment of **_The Wizard of Oz._ **It had come as a complete surprise (sort of) when they came into the hall. They, being the people who were pranked.

First into the hall was Trelawny as the scarecrow. Several people got this immediately and began to laugh. The fact that the scarecrow had claimed to have no brain was not lost on the crowd, and people began to snicker while Parvarti and Lavender looked horrified.

Second into the hall was Draco Malfoy as the cowardly lion. This fact was also not lost on the Hall and even more laughter could be heard.

The next to enter was Snape as the heartless tin man. He was creaking along very loudly (not to mention that every time his metal body creaked it said, "I'm heartless!") This brought loud, very loud laughter.

And last in was, surprisingly enough, Ginny as Dorothy. One could look at the story and say that Dorothy had no respect for family, which was symbolic itself. In her arms was Sirius in his animagus form, posing as Toto. It looked comical, seeing a massive dog replace the small Toto. Ginny was out of breath from caring the large animal.

Suddenly, the stone floor in the hall had turned into yellow bricks. The four began to skip the head table, singing, "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Hogwarts!" until they reached the head table, where they stared up at Dumbledore for a few moments before they began to speak.

"Oh mighty wizard of Hogwarts! We come before you with requests!" said Ginny/Dorothy, not caring that these weren't the exact lines. Obviously the pranksters didn't care about the exact wording, or they were too lazy (Harry was betting they were too lazy to find out).

"Please, Oh Great One! Please give me a brain, for I am stupid fraud!" cried Trelawny.

"Please, Oh Great One! Please give me courage, for I am a cowardly prick who no one likes!" said Malfoy.

"Please, Oh Great One! Please give me a heart, for I am a bitter old man who can't let go of old grudges!" that one was obviously Snape.

"Please, Oh Great One! Let me go home, even though I don't deserve it and was wrong to fight with my friends!" said Ginny. Sirius, in her arms (she was starting to look like she would collapse) gave a bark and jumped out of them. This seemed to break the enchantment, even though they were still wearing the costumes to it (Ginny was wearing pigtails and a dress, Snape had a tin looking body, Draco had on a lion costume, and Trelawny… just looked like herself).

Snape was looked furious, as were the others. "POTTER! COME OUT! I KNOW YOU DID THIS!" he roared. Thankfully for Harry, he meant James Potter. Sirius was cowering under the Ravenclaw table (a second year had taken pity on him and put a cloak over him so he would be better hidden) and James, Lily, and the Weasley twins were nowhere to be found.

Snape stalked out of the Hall, muttering about revenge. Ginny was looking very embarrassed and slipped out the Hall without much notice, as Malfoy and Trelawny were both causing a fuss.

"I demand whoever did this get a severe punishment!" said Malfoy.

"Now, now, Malfoy, it was nothing but a harmless prank. I, of course, foresaw it coming and decided that this school need a few laughs, which was why I let them 'prank' me…" said Trelawny.

"Oh shut up, you fraud!" yelled Malfoy, obviously enraged. He was meaning for it to come out menacing, but as he was still in a lion's suit the effect was ruined. And Dumbledore didn't look impressed.

"Why don't you two come with me?" he asked pleasantly as he got up from the staff table and began to walk out of the Hall. The two followed, still bickering.

As soon as the teachers and the victims were out of earshot, the entire Hall burst into loud laughter. This had to have been one of the best pranks yet—probably because the pranksters had teamed up. Sirius barked encouragingly from underneath the Ravenclaw table and there was more laughter as he ran out from his hiding place and took a victory lap around the room.

Harry rolled his eyes as Sirius pranced about the room. Hermione was trying to look disapproving, but was failing. It was obvious that she had found the prank funny too. And she most likely thought that the way Sirius was acting was funny also.

Harry gave Hermione a smile, and she gave a bright smile back. Ron glared at him from down the table a little ways. Harry's smile faded a bit as he saw Ron's venomous gaze directed towards him.

Harry closed his eyes tiredly. Why couldn't Ron just give it a rest? So he got in a fight with his sister. He had sided with his family blindly, obviously not caring if she was right or wrong. And he didn't care about the repercussions of such an act either.

Harry did want his friend back, and his girlfriend, but he would rather they not bite his head off every time they had an argument.

* * *

"You know, you really should apologize," said Hermione carefully as she sat down next to Ginny. Ginny huffed and gave her a dirty look.

"Harry's just so stubborn! If he could admit that he's wrong—"

"Ginny, to admit you're wrong means that you have to be wrong. Now, I'm not saying that Harry was completely right. What I am saying is that you both were wrong. You mostly though. Ginny, let's face it, you have been overly pushy lately. It's most likely because of the voice, or at least that's my guess. But please, Ginny, you know that you were wrong about the neglecting thing, and the working thing," said Hermione. Ginny said nothing, only scribbling harder on her homework. The common room around them bustled with activity, no one around them noticing the tension in the air.

"Maybe I'll apologize if he does," said Ginny.

"Ginny, you know he's waiting for you to apologize!" said Hermione.

"I know, but I want him to approach me first! I don't want to be the only one who has to work for the relationship!" said Ginny.

"Ginny, please, stop being so… _arrogant_! You aren't the only one working for your relationship… in fact, I've barely seen you do anything! It's always Harry who's trying to connect with you!" snapped Hermione.

"What are you talking about? I've been working real hard at this…" said Ginny, but her voice sounded unsure, almost as if she was beginning to doubt herself. Hermione jumped on the change.

"Ginny, don't delude yourself. All you've done is made more work for Harry. Do you think he enjoys being in a fight with you? I don't think so. You can't just think about how you're feeling, you have to think about Harry too," said Hermione, her voice turning soothing.

"I know. It's just that I've been so stressed out lately… and I thought that Harry was just adding to it all…"

"Believe me, Ginny, if there is anyone who knows stress then it's Harry. He wouldn't purposely add stress to you if he could help it. So you should apologize!" said Hermione.

"I'm not going to apologize. I still want him to come to me—we were both equally wrong, and I want to know that he's really sorry. And can get over his stubbornness for me,"

"Ginny, we just discussed this. He's waiting for you to come to him, because he thinks you're the one who was most wrong. And you were. Ginny, it isn't him who needs to get over his stubbornness. It's you who needs to get over yours," said Hermione. Ginny sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I don't know what to do," said Ginny tiredly. "On one hand, I want to apologize. On another, I want him to apologize. Another I just want to leave everything be and pretend he doesn't exist."

"Ginny, just apologize," said Hermione.

"Okay—I will tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Are you just scared to do it right now?" asked Hermione. "Let me guess. Tomorrow will become, 'I'll do it later, I have something I need to do…' and then that will transform into, 'I will as soon as I'm done with this! Even though it might take me a few years to get this done…',"

"Hermione! I get your point! It's just that Harry isn't in his dormitory or at the library. We all think that he's exploring the castle right now, and who knows when we'll find him," said Ginny.

"How would you know he's not in his dormitory?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

"I asked one of the boys if Harry was up there. I wanted to be in a place where I was sure Harry wouldn't bother me," said Ginny truthfully. Hermione only sighed and shook her head.

* * *

Lily sighed and sneezed. Of course she would get Harry's cold. Of course. Now she knew why Harry didn't want to go to the hospital wing. It did seem like a complete waste of time now that it was her experiencing it.

So, of course James has to continually ask her to go to the hospital wing. She felt like strangling him. Now, this wasn't like her asking Harry to go. No, this was just James trying to annoy her. And he was succeeding.

"Lily, you really should go to the hospital wing…" said James for the thousandth time that minute. Lily's eye twitched in annoyance and she began to walk away from her husband… but not before she sneezed again. She tried to ignore James' laughter, but it was pretty hard to.

Lily sighed and began to head towards the hospital wing. She would get a potion for it, if only to get James off her back. As she walked up some of the stairs, she suddenly slipped, and began to fall backwards. Lily felt an intense swooping sensation, like one feels when one is going down a huge roller coaster, except this time she didn't have any safety bars.

* * *

Harry slid down into the Chamber that night with Ice at his side, quickly going through all the passageways until he got to the main chamber. There he began his sword practice again—and again and again.

_/Come on, master! I know you can do better then that! Try not to look like an elephant trying to dance!/_ said Ice as he critiqued Harry's swordsmanship. Harry stopped practicing and gave Ice a weird look.

_/An elephant dancing? Where did you come up with that one?/_ asked Harry, abandoning his sword on the ground and sitting cross-legged in front of Ice.

_/What are you doing?! You're supposed to be practicing!/_ snarled Ice, slithered towards the sword and tapping it with his tail. _/You shouldn't slack off!/_

_/I'm not slacking off! This is a break and I asked you a question!/_ protested Harry. Ice gave a snort—or at least the best snort a snake can do—and began to slither out of Harry's sight. Harry jumped up, feeling insulted that Ice would just slither away like that.

_/Hey! Come back here, you stubborn snake!/_ Harry called, but Ice had already disappeared. Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his sword, already trying to practice again.

Then it happened. His sword slipped—right into his leg. Harry stared at it for a moment before sliding the sword out of his leg. There was so much blood… it was everywhere… his leg was absolutely gushing it… and then Harry collapsed.

* * *

James was watching the cameras when he got a bad feeling. This wasn't one of the bad feelings that happened when you were paranoid after a scary movie, or when you just got nervous, no… it was one of those bad feelings that you know are going to lead to something bad happening.

James, in training as an Auror, had always been told to trust his instincts. Now, he didn't have the best instincts, but when the situation called for it he could pull through pretty well.

And his instincts were yelling at him that something bad was happening.

* * *

A/N: Well, this chapter was a little better. My writer's block is still there, but it hid for the moment, allowing me to write this chapter. Hopefully I'll get over my writer's block soon and return to writing better chapters!

Thank you everyone for the great prank ideas! I used **_2693_**'s prank idea this chapter--thank you for suggesting it!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	37. Chapter 37

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

* * *

James leapt to his feet and ran out of the room, his robes swirling behind him. This intense feeling in his gut meant _something _bad was happening… He heard Sirius behind him, but couldn't care less.

He kept running, up corridor after corridor, just following his gut feeling. His breath came in harsh pants, and his side began to ache with a cramp. His feet were echoing off the stonewalls, but he couldn't bring himself to care about any of these small little details. Something bad was happening.

He skidded to a halt as he came to a staircase. He saw a flash of red, and his heart twisted as he saw Lily falling off of the staircase. His feet seemed glued to the floor, and he couldn't do anything. All he seemed to be able to do was watch as his wife fell.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _it was Sirius who said this, and Lily's body came to a halt right before the ground. James let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in and cast Sirius a thankful look before hurrying to see if Lily was all right.

"Lily? Lily, are you all right?! Are you hurt?" asked James as he knelt down next to his wife, only to discover her unconscious from the fall. James closed his eyes in relief as he realized that she was still breathing and still alive.

"Let's take her to the hospital wing," whispered Sirius, who had come up next to him. James nodded his head silently and gathered his wife in his arms bridal style. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"I don't feel like using magic to get her there right now. I want to be sure that she's safe in my arms," said James. James ignored Sirius' silent laughter at such a corny thing to say, but no matter how much Sirius laughed, James couldn't bring himself to care. He had come so close to losing Lily… and they weren't even in battle! This is just an accident!

James sighed and clutched Lily tighter and closer to him.

* * *

_A warm blackness was surrounding him. He felt himself drifting away… the blackness was so nice, so comforting… he didn't want to leave this paradise…_

_His blackness suddenly turned to white. This was an even more comforting white, an even better…__**thing**__, for lack of a better word, to drift in. He didn't need anything here; no food, no water, no oxygen… it was just so perfect…_

_Perfect? Why would anything be perfect? The whiteness seemed to echo this around the space. He frowned. Why was the white doing this? He just wanted to be comfortable!_

_But was comfort the right thing to have right now? The white was questioning him. _

"_But why wouldn't it?" he asked out loud to the whiteness. It didn't answer, but Harry suddenly thought that the white was mad at him. _

_Do you not have a duty to do?_

"_I… can't… remember…" and indeed he couldn't. It all seemed so blurry to him… like a faded dream… _

_**Then it happened. His sword slipped—right into his leg. Harry stared at it for a moment before sliding the sword out of his leg. There was so much blood… it was everywhere… his leg was absolutely gushing it… and then Harry collapsed.**_

_What had that been? He thought about this for a moment. It was weird, he mused, that a person's memories were coming to him… but wait… what if they were his own? He found himself getting more and more confused as the whiteness around him grew more and more angry._

_That's right—he remembered now. His name was Harry James Potter. He had a girlfriend named Ginny Weasley that he was currently in a fight with. He had been in the Chamber of Secrets… the Chamber! He had had an accident in there!_

_But there was something missing—wait, why did a large sword slip and go straight through his leg? I mean, yes, it is the Sword of Merlin, but not even he would make such a mistake…_

_The whiteness around him seemed to be insanely happy at all of these conclusions. Harry just found himself becoming more and more confused. There were so many unanswered questions! And what of him now? Was he dead?_

_Not yet. Not yet, echoed the whiteness._

_"But what's going on? Why am I here? What and where is 'here', anyways?" Harry questioned._

_Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. _

_Harry found himself reminded heavily of a horror movie he had once seen when Dudley was watching television. There had been an insane man, chanting some line over and over again, killing people…_

_But, Harry reminded himself, I'm not going to die. I won't allow myself to. But I won't have much of a choice until I find out where I am… and what, exactly, this all is. _

* * *

Lily groaned as she opened her eyes. "What happened?" she muttered as she sat up gingerly. James was by her side in a second, pushing her down gently.

"You fell down the stairs," said James as he tucked the covers around her tightly. Lily raised her eyebrows at the motion.

"Oh?" she said in a questioning voice.

"Well, it's not like we know why you fell," said James. Lily sighed and James fluffed up her pillow a little bit.

"I just slipped, I guess," said Lily, trying to remember back to the incident.

"She's up?" asked Madam Pomfrey as she came bustling over. James nodded and got out of the way of the healer as she began to check over Lily.

"Well, all seems to be well…" said Madam Pomfrey as she stood up and turned to James. "I would just suggest being careful around her for a while… other then that, she's free to go. I can't find anything wrong with her."

James nodded thankfully and helped Lily to her feet before they both walked out of the hospital wing.

"You're okay?" asked Sirius as soon as they came into the room. Lily and James both nodded.

"I'm going to get Lily to bed for some rest, okay?" asked James, already heading towards their bedroom, ignoring Lily's protests that she was fine and didn't need to lie down.

Sirius shook his head fondly and sat down next to Remus.

"So. Our next prank…"

* * *

Harry took in a shuddering gasp and opened his eyes. He blinked for a moment until his memory came back to him. He sat up and glanced down at his legs, only to find no blood. He stared at it for a moment before checking it. There was no wound.

He blinked and stared at the leg a couple more seconds. What had happened? Where had all the blood gone? Where was the injury? What, exactly, was that whiteness?

He glanced at the Sword of Merlin and did a double take. It was pulsing. He took in a deep breath and reached out his hand to take it, only to draw it back at the last moment. The metal was searing hot—he couldn't touch it without being burnt.

_/What are you doing?/ _Harry jumped at the hissing sound of Ice's voice. Harry turned and saw Ice slithering towards him, stopping a couple of feet away.

_/Ice…something just happened…/ _said Harry in explanation.

_/I can tell that, you foolish child! What I want is an account of what happened. There seems to be magic just plain buzzing around here…/_

_/Well, the Sword of Merlin slipped while I was practicing with it, and it went right through my leg… after that everything went black, but it turned white, and the whiteness seemed to speak to me… it was really confusing, and I could barely remember who I was… and then I woke up, and it was like I had never been injured! And the Sword of Merlin is all hot now, so I can't touch it/_

Harry studied Ice for a moment after all this was said. Was it just him, or did Ice look a bit excited…?

_/Was the Sword of Merlin pulsing?/ _asked Ice.

_/Yeah, it was, but it isn't now/ _said Harry, and indeed it wasn't. Harry reached out a hand and touched it, expecting to be burned, but with a jolt realized that not only did the pulsing stop but the heat did as well.

_/Master, why were you practicing with the Sword of Merlin anyways? I thought that we agreed that you should use a practice sword instead, because the Sword of Merlin is dangerous and shouldn't be used all the time/ _asked Ice.

_/I don't know/ _said Harry, a damning realization coming over him. _/Ice… did the Sword of Merlin do that on purpose? And then heal me after it was all done?/_

_/It might have/ _dismissed Ice. Harry could see that Ice didn't want to discuss this possibility, so he let it drop.

* * *

Harry snuck out of the Chamber and into the girl's bathroom. Moaning Myrtle was thankfully absent, so Harry didn't have to stop and talk to her. Instead Harry went on his way to the common room. It was nearly two in the morning, so he didn't really expect anyone up. Nevertheless, he had on his invisibility cloak in order to fool the cameras and get in the portrait hole undetected.

He made sure that his footsteps were quiet as he went through the corridors. He had to stop a few times in order to pass a teacher, but he got to the common room relatively quickly. As he climbed in, he froze. There was still someone up.

He gave a small sigh of relief when he realized it was just Ginny, and she was asleep on the couch. He frowned a little a walked closer to her. What would she still be doing down here? He didn't know, and he wasn't really curious.

He reached forward and tapped her shoulder gently. "Ginny, wake up. You need to go to bed," said Harry, and when she didn't respond immediately he shook her harder. That woke her up and she stared up at him groggily for a few moments before blinking the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up.

"Harry?" she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes absentmindedly.

"Yeah, it's me. You fell asleep down here, and I thought that you would want to go back to your dormitory…"

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" she burst out suddenly, startling Harry.

"What?" he said, astonished.

"I'm sorry for all I said that day—everything was just getting to me, and I just wanted to spend more time with you… I'm so sorry!" she said, and Harry was horrified to see that she had started crying. He patted her back awkwardly.

"It's okay, Ginny. I forgive you," he said.

"You do? How can you, after all I said?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, you meant well," said Harry, still feeling awkward and not sure what to say.

"Are… are we still up for Hogsmeade?" asked Ginny nervously.

"Of course," said Harry soothingly. Ginny gave him a blindingly bright smile, and Harry gave a small one back. "Were you waiting up for me?" asked Harry.

"Yeah—I figured you were in the Chamber, so I decided to wait until you came back. I didn't really plan on falling asleep, though," she admitted, looking slightly guilty that she had fallen asleep.

"It's okay," said Harry. "Why don't you go to bed now? You look really tired," Ginny simply nodded and allowed Harry to lead her to the staircase before bidding him good night.

* * *

"Oh Merlin," was the first thing out of Hermione's mouth that morning (she had, obviously, picked up some language from the wizarding world).

"What's wrong?" asked Ron, already sitting down at the table and stuffing his face full of food.

"Haven't you looked up at the Head Table?" she asked, holding her hand over her mouth. Ron shook his head no, then proceeded to eat again, not bothering to look up at said table. Hermione simply shook her head at him and stared at Snape.

Who happened to be dressed exactly how the boggart had been dressed in their third year.

"Talk about adding salt to an old wound," said Ginny, coming up next to her. They both knew how much Snape had hated Neville after that—and they would bet Snape wouldn't rest until he found out who was doing the pranks and pay them back in a very, very painful way.

It was then that they noticed that both Sirius and James were getting up. They whispered to each other for a few moments, before they both jumped onto the Head Table and began to shout.

"GOOD MORNING, STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS!" Sirius yelled.

"AS I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME VERY MYSTERIOUS PRANKS GOING ON—WHICH WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT, OF COURSE," shouted James.

"BUT, WE'VE DECIDED TO UP THE COMPETITION A LITTLE—NOT THAT WE'RE IN THE COMPETITION, OF COURSE."

"AND WE'VE DECIDED TO UP THE COMPETITION BY MAKING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COMPETITION EMBARRASSED—NOT THAT THEY'RE OUR COMPETITION, AND NOT THAT WE'RE IN THE COMPETITION, OF COURSE."

Everyone was exchanging exasperated looks. Harry, who had come into the Hall at this point, was looking like he wanted to walk right back out.

"SO, MAY WE PLEASE INTRODUCE, THE TERRIBLE THREE'S TERRIBLE TANGO!"

At that moment, loud tango music came on in the Hall. The lights dimmed and a small stage appeared, with a spotlight on it. There were three figures on it, Lily, Fred, and George. Both Fred and George were wearing frilly dresses, and it was obvious that they had really dressed up. They had the whole works on—make up, hair, and their nails were even done. Lily, on the other hand, was wearing a tuxedo. They all had on muggle attire.

They began to dance, and it was obvious from the very beginning that they really were terrible. Fred and George could not dance in high heels, and since their parts were switched, they were made to do the women's part, which was near impossible for them. Lily was trying to dance, also, but was failing.

People all around the Hall were laughing loudly, but Hermione found herself growing paler and paler. How could James and Sirius do something like that?! Not only did they just give out the identities of who were pulling pranks—which meant that Snape was probably going to try and get them back, but also they also just embarrassed three people who were only trying to embarrass Snape, not them.

Hermione glanced at Harry, and was satisfied to see that he had drawn the same conclusions. She glanced around at the rest of the group, but found that only Ginny really understood what could result from this.

Hermione made her way over to Harry and stopped in front of him, before whispering, "How could your father and Sirius do something like this?! This is so mean!"

"I know, Hermione. I bet mum is going to be so mad at them, too," said Harry. He was glaring at James now, but James didn't seem to notice.

"I wonder what Lily is going to do about this," said Hermione, turning towards Lily, who was still dancing.

"I dunno," said Harry, and they both fell into silence, waiting for everything to stop. When the music finally stopped, the stage disappeared, along with the spotlight. A silence filled the Hall as Lily turned to James slowly. James' grin disappeared as his wife walked towards him.

She said nothing to him. Instead, she simply slapped him. And then walked out of the Hall.

* * *

After the incident in the Great Hall, things had become incredibly strained between everyone. Harry supported his mother in the fight that James and Lily had now gone into. This made things strange among his family. Not to mention his friends took sides as well.

Things with Ron were still uncomfortable, but better then before. However, Ron took James' side in the entire mess.

Ginny and Remus chose to take neither side.

Hermione supported Lily, along with Harry.

Sirius supported James.

Fred and George were both simply furious. They were now refusing to talk to their idols—instead, they were planning pranks to play on them.

It was horrible going to Marauder's Quarters. Whenever Harry went there, it was to find his parents in a huge arguing match. Sirius would add in a comment here or there, while Remus would sit silently at the cameras. One such was happening right now.

"I HADN'T PRANKED YOU, JAMES, AND I WASN'T PLANNING ON IT! I WAS JUST GETTING BACK AT SNAPE! AND NOW EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IT WAS ME WHO—"

"LILY, IT WAS JUST A PRANK! YOU'RE OVERREACTING! AND YOU'RE OUR COMPETITION! IT DIDN'T MATTER THAT YOU WEREN'T PRANKING US, IT MATTERED THAT YOU WERE PRANKING AT ALL—"

"I DON'T KNOW WHY I BOTHER EVEN ARGUING WITH YOU IF YOU REFUSE TO SEE REASON—"

"ME SEE REASON?! I THINK YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S REFUSING TO SEE REASON!"

During these arguments, Harry never said a word. He would sit by Remus and say nothing. Sirius barely ever spoke either. It was really between James and Lily. Harry did, however, make it known in little ways that it was his mother that he supported.

Instead of going to James for advice, like he had started to quite often, instead he was asking his mother's advice right in front of him. He was simply refusing to speak to his father. Whenever James would ask him a question, or try to strike up a conversation with him, he wouldn't say a thing.

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME?! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO—"

"HOW MUCH IT HURTS?! HOW ABOUT THAT SLAP YOU GAVE ME AFTER THE PRANK—"

It was a week after the prank. Harry was sitting at the monitors, listening to their arguments. And suddenly he had had enough.

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP?!" he roared suddenly, startling even himself. After getting over the surprise, he continued speaking, this time in a softer voice. "Dad. Let's face it. You were a stupid idiot to do that to mum. You hurt her, and exposed her as the one doing the pranks. Now Snape is furious with her! Not only that, but she hadn't pranked you! She hadn't been PLANNING on pranking you!"

James was silent as Harry got up and left.

* * *

Ron sat and stared moodily out of the window. Why was everyone insisting that the prank was mean? It was just a prank! Everyone was just blowing it out of proportion.

He sighed and stared harder at the lake, contemplating all that was happening. Harry had hurt his sister deeply, and in the end it was Ginny who apologized. Ron agreed with a lot of what Ginny was saying—Harry had been neglecting him. He barely ever saw Harry anymore! It was only at quidditch practices, or mealtimes, or classes, or at odd hours in the common room. Harry never just hung out with him just to hang out. There was always a reason that Harry was with them.

Yes, it made Ron bitter. Harry had been his best friend for his first four years of Hogwarts, and then his parents came back to life. Suddenly everything was about the Potter drama that always seemed to be going on—he had found out that Lily and James both were exceedingly like Harry—trouble always seemed to find them.

Harry was getting a ton of special treatment too. Now his parents and his parent's friends were teaching at Hogwarts, and guarding Hogwarts, and his grades suddenly go up.

Ron would admit, he was feeling a bit lonely. It was like he had lost his best friend, the one that didn't care about grades, and the one that didn't care about getting stronger for everyone else. Ron felt that ever since Harry's parents had come back, he had lost Harry.

Then there was that voice in his head. Harry kept telling him not to listen to that voice, and that Occlumency would help, but the things the voice said were just so true, and the things the voice was saying were just so tempting…

* * *

"How is everything going, Donna? Is all going according to plan?" asked Voldemort to Donna. Voldemort carefully entered her mind for a second. Donna usually was a decent Occlumens, but she would never be good enough to stop him from entering. There were only two in the world who could shut him out—Dumbledore and Snape. Recently Harry Potter had been added to that list, but Voldemort suspected outside help on that, because his shields were just too good to be built in such a short time.

Voldemort carefully glanced into her mind, and was appalled to hear her thinking, _'What plan?'_

"The plan, Donna, the plan," said Voldemort impatiently. She blinked and seemed to remember.

"Oh, yes, everything is. The Potter family is being split up at this very moment—fights seem to come daily to them. The Ginny brat was able to overcome it time and time again—it seems that no matter how many times Potter and her fight they always make up, and no matter how bratty or childish I make her she always gets forgiven."

"And the other Weasley?"

"All is going according to plan, my Lord."

* * *

A/N: Okay, let me give you a brief explanation of all that's been happening. First, I missed my update time. I was really tired that night, and went to bed with the chapter half written. I tried posting the small chapter up, hoping that it would satisfy you and I would give you an extra long chapter the next week, but messed with the chapter and it shaved off some parts of it that were crucial. I deleted the chapter, so if you got an alert for it and couldn't get to it, that's the reason why.

I still have writer's block. It was really bad last night, but I was able to write the rest of this chapter easily, so I'm hoping it will go away.

I'm also going on vacation soon. I don't know if I'll be able to update on my normal schedule; we'll have to see. In case I don't, you now know the reason.

I'm sorry for any mistakes in this chapter. I wanted to get this up for everyone, so I didn't really check it over.

Please review, and I'm so sorry that this is late!


	38. Chapter 38

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 38**

* * *

Harry sighed. His parents had finally stopped fighting, but Harry wished they still were. That way they were at least communicating and talking to each other—even though they were fighting, it was a form of solving their problems. Now, however, they were ignoring each other—and had been ever since Harry's interruption. 

It didn't help Harry at all that James seemed to finally realize that Harry wasn't on his side. Instead of the failed conversations James tried to have with him, he instead purposely ignored Harry too. Now, since Harry was also ignoring James, this usually wouldn't be too big of a deal. However, it was a very cold silence, and for some reason made Harry very guilty about it. Harry would not change to James' side, however.

After the prank, Lily had gone to her class with her head held high. This, unfortunately, didn't really work on the students—they were constantly asking for an encore of her dance. She was handing out detentions left and right, and after a while the students finally seemed to realize that she didn't want to talk about it, and she didn't want to be teased about it.

Ron was a completely different story. He supported James completely, and was seen with James on numerous occasions. It seemed that now, instead of being Harry's friend, he was James' friend. It made Harry a little mad that Ron was insisting on being so insensitive and stupid, along with his father and occasionally Sirius.

The Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip was slowly coming up. To Harry, it was taking forever, on the account that he actually wanted to get away from his mother and father and all of their silence and fighting. He just wanted to relax away from everyone with Ginny.

Ginny was being great about everything. She was taking neither side—which turned out to be to her benefit, because that way nothing was expected of her and she didn't have to defend someone every time—and she also didn't blame Harry for taking Lily's side. She also didn't blame Ron for taking James' side. In fact, she didn't blame anyone.

Harry found himself with a large amount on his plate. The D.A. was still going—though they really saw no point after Dolores Umbridge left, they continues on anyways just to make sure they could properly defend themselves. It seemed to Harry that Ice had upped his training, especially animagus training and sword training. There was the problem of ever-increasing homework. The Professors seemed intent on making sure the material was so well known to every student that they could recite everything from memory—including the text. He still spent a lot of time with Ginny, his friends, and his parents.

That wasn't to mention the new mysteries he had acquired. There were so many questions to be answered! What was Donna Umbridge planning? What was the voice? What was that mysterious whiteness when Harry supposedly fell unconscious? Those were only the tip of the iceberg—Harry could think of tons more needed to be answered.

And that was another thing—the voice! Harry was almost positive that the voice was Donna Umbridge now. All the clues pointed directly to her. The others, however, seemed to think that Donna was innocent. Why? Maybe because the voice was telling them so? Or maybe because Donna was putting on such a pretty little act? Harry wasn't sure.

Harry was intent on teaching everyone Occlumency quickly. He wanted that voice out of their heads. Not only that, but Harry was scared that Lily or Ginny or someone would spill all of his secrets just by knowing them.

With all of the fights going on, he couldn't teach anyone Occlumency. There always seemed to be something in the way—he wasn't talking to James (and vice versa), he didn't have the time, Ron was being stupid again… the excuses went on forever. At this rate, Harry was fearful that they would never learn Occlumency, or he would eventually give up on teaching them or completely forget about it.

And there was _****__another _problem too. With all of the things that has gone on recently, Harry could barely remember who was told what. He felt like he was getting tangled in the web of lies that he had weaved. He knew that Ginny knew basically everything, and he knew that Remus and Lily knew a couple of facts as well. He knew McGonagall had figured out the animagus forms, but that was as far as Harry's knowledge extended. He could barely even remember what he had told Remus and Lily!

He was beginning to feel as if there were only two people in the world he really trusted other then himself anymore. Ginny and Ice. Ginny, because he had told her everything, and Ice, because he knows everything too—in fact, Ice is the one who teaches him!

But then again, he couldn't trust Ginny fully—there were still a few things that were kept from her. And he was beginning to become concerned about her—it seemed as though the voice was affecting her, because she was becoming more childish and immature by the day.

Harry sighed again and rubbed his eyes.

* * *

Ginny gave an impatient huff as she stared out the window. 

Yes, she would admit, the voice was getting to her. It kept telling her to do things that she really didn't want to do—but the voice was so convincing! It was a weak excuse, but still. She wasn't sure what to do—just like she wasn't sure when Tom Riddle was possessing her.

Should she go to Harry and ask for help? No. He was already doing more then enough for her—what with training her to become an animagus, training her with a sword, and even letting her in to all of his secrets!

She was refusing to tell Dumbledore—that would create many problems. One, he would see everything Harry was doing in her mind, which would be bad. Two, she was too stubborn to go to someone like the Headmaster and admit that she wasn't good enough to not submit to the temptations of the voice.

She couldn't go to Lily, James, or Sirius, because they don't know Occlumency and would be unable to help. She would probably just confuse them more with her problems, and they were already having enough of their own.

Ron was completely out of the question. No way. Not only is he basically useless in any matters of the mind—including thinking for school—he would also think her to be stupid, or useless, or something bad that she didn't want him to think of her as.

Remus? He would be a possibility—he does, after all, know Occlumency. But those are natural shields from the werewolf, so he wouldn't know how to teach it or help her. And he doesn't know everything about Harry, either, so he wouldn't be much use.

Hermione? She would just try to analyze her, or do something equally as bookish as that, and not actually try to help her. Or she might go to the library and do research on stuff like that, but not actually help her physically.

McGonagall or the other Professors? No… they don't really know what's going on. And she couldn't really trust them to keep it secret, because they would probably run to Dumbledore as soon as she said anything important to them.

Her parents are also out of the question. Not only do they not know Occlumency, but her mother would probably think it's dangerous for her to be at Hogwarts and pull her out, or she would fret that being around Harry so much would endanger them, or something of that sort. Her father… well, truthfully, she wasn't too sure what her father would do, but she's pretty sure that she doesn't want to find out.

So… who could she go to? In her mind, she could only look to herself.

And herself wasn't really herself with the voice in it.

* * *

Hermione blinked her eyes rapidly, trying her best to stay awake. 

_Your brains could be put to so much better uses… just think! You could practically rule the world if you really put your mind to it…_

Hermione stubbornly ignored the voice in her head as she stared at her homework.

No, she refused to listen to it. She knew she was smart, and she was also smart enough to know that the voice wasn't right in suggesting what it was suggesting.

The voice really was correct on one thing—she was smart. Smart enough to know something was happening around her. And she was feeling powerless to stop it.

Something was going on with Harry. What was with his high grades? It couldn't just be his parents. That would be completely unpractical—no matter how much Lily tutors him, the student has to be willing to learn in order to actually learn anything! So… has Harry suddenly grown studious? Or is there some other reason for his sudden enthusiasm for school?

She also knew that he was going somewhere every single night. She was up late one day in the common room on a couch. She was doing last minute homework—in her eyes it was last minute, though it was due a week from that day. She heard the common room portrait open, and before she could really think about what she was doing she had ducked behind the couch she was sitting at and looked out at the common room, still barely lighted by the embers of the fire.

There was no one there for a second, and then Harry had whipped off his invisibility cloak. She had stared, shocked, as he began to hiss at his shoulders, and then Ice poked his head out of Harry's sleeve and answered back.

Hermione had been tempted to stand up and asked him exactly what he was doing this late, but for some reason she felt that it would be better if she kept her head down for the moment. Harry had disappeared up the boy's dormitory's stairs, and she was left to contemplate what Harry had been doing.

Now she's been staying up late nearly every night, and found that Harry always comes back late. This explains why he's so tired every single day—he comes back at one on a good night, and on especially bad nights he'll come back at five or six.

Hermione wasn't really sure what to think anymore. Harry was acting differently, and it showed. She was sure someone else had noticed, but it seemed that she was the only one. Thought sometimes she had the sneaking suspicion that Ginny, Lily, or Remus knew something. And sometimes she thought that McGonagall would throw Harry knowing looks. But these times were fleeting, and she tried her best the push them away to the back of her mind.

She was trying to push that to the back of her mind. As well as that infernal voice.

* * *

Lily felt like screaming. Screaming loud and long. 

It seemed like so many things were going wrong! This fight with James was getting to the point where it was stupid. There was no communication going on, and it was annoying the hell out of her. Not only that, but she had a feeling that it was annoying James too—as well as everyone around them. But they were both too stubborn to just sit down and talk.

She knew that James was wrong. She and the Weasley twins were only trying to prank Snape, and not start a war. They had even teamed up with James once! But no, right after their team effort, James seemed to suddenly realize that they were "competing" against each other and that the "other side" needed to be pranked so they knew who, exactly, was the better person at pranking.

Lily would admit, James had gotten them good. But that didn't excuse what they had done! Sure, she could see their side of the story—James always thought that if someone else was pranking someone while he was there, that meant that they were competition.

But really! That doesn't excuse what they did!

And she was raging mad about it, too. James knew this. Maybe that was why James had stopped the useless yelling matches and instead moved on to silence. James had even stopped sleeping in the same bed as her—instead, he slept on the couch in the common area of the Marauder's Quarters. He would usually take night guard duty, too, which was making her slightly nervous for Harry. But since there was no sudden exclamation from James in the night that Harry was going to the Chamber, she thought it was a safe guess that Harry was smart enough to know that it was James on the monitors and to keep himself safely hidden.

That was another thing. Harry. She was beginning to get the feeling that he was hiding something more from her. It was getting her angry with him, too, because she had a feeling that this was something big.

She had the realization one day that Ginny knew about it. It was like she could see it in the redhead's eyes. But she still wasn't sure what it was!

It was all so frustrating! And there was more—that damn voice. Harry hadn't given them any recent Occlumency lessons, so she was beginning to get worried. The voice was getting slightly stronger, though there was still uncertainty about it, among other things.

She was getting worried about her mind. She could have sworn that Dumbledore was looking at her strangely one day, as was Snape. She wanted her mind protected, not open for all to see! Maybe not all, but many people! Okay, not many either, but people that she didn't want rummaging around in her personal space!

Lily sighed and resisted the temptation to scream. Again.

* * *

James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 

Everything was falling apart before his very eyes. It hurt to see Lily turn away from him coldly everywhere. It reminded him of his Hogwarts days, except this hurt much worse because he's much more in love with her now then he was before.

It was all because of one stupid prank. Just one little prank! James couldn't resist a challenge, which is what he thought that Lily was giving him. He must have misinterpreted her intentions.

Of course he did, or else she wouldn't be reacting the way she is! He felt like he was forced to take night duty, or sleep on the couch. He would feel too uncomfortable to sleep next to her while in an argument, and he didn't want to make her suffer for his mistakes.

He could tell that she was super mad. That's why he wasn't talking to her—he was sure that he would get his head bitten off. He didn't want to get in another pointless argument.

It really hurt to see most of his friends turn away from him too. Remus didn't take sides, but James could tell that he didn't agree with him at all. He could tell that Remus was secretly supporting Lily.

Sirius was his best mate through and through. Even though he could see deep in Sirius' eyes that Sirius didn't really agree with him either, Sirius stuck with him. James felt a deep appreciation for the friend that he had made in his first year here.

Harry was also deeply injuring him. He had thought that he was making progress in making a successful relationship with his one and only son, but that all went swirling down the drain when the fight started. It was clear from the beginning that Harry supported Lily.

It hurt when James saw Harry go to Lily for advice when it had been him that he should have asked. It hurt when he saw Harry brush by him in the corridors without even a glance or a smile, as though he didn't know him or didn't want to know him. It hurt when he heard Harry talking about how stupid his father was acting in the corridors while James was watching the cameras.

It really hurt James. It really did.

* * *

Sirius yawned loudly and stretched his arms far above his head. 

There had been many things happening lately for Sirius. He was involved in the fight himself, though not directly. He was the cause of it, he knew, but he refused to admit it. He was the one who suggested the prank, who thought it up, and who was the one who really pulled it. He just coerced James into helping him in the final stages, when it was actually pulled.

He didn't mean it to get so out of hand, though. He wouldn't have suspected that Lily would go off on James when she didn't really even know if it was him who thought it up and did it! She just went off without the full story.

Okay, yeah, he did agree with Lily on a lot of the points. Yes, it was stupid of them. But it was only for fun! Sirius thought that Lily was taking the whole thing way too seriously—no pun intended. And the worst part is was that James was taking the whole thing really hard.

James was sleeping on the couch at nights now—and no matter how comfortable that couch may be, no one would want to sleep on it! Sirius was feeling mighty sorry for James.

And he could see that it was doing a lot of damage to James when Harry turned away from him as well. Sirius disagreed with what Harry was doing—it wasn't Harry's fight, so he should stay out of it! He should do what Remus and Ginny were doing—staying neutral and not taking sides.

He had a reason to be in the fight—he was the main reason they were fighting, really. He was just refusing to tell anyone, and James didn't really think that it was his fault.

So… what should he do? Tell or not tell?

Sirius wasn't sure.

* * *

"Ouch," muttered Ron as he hit his head on the doorframe. "Stupid door," 

A lot of things seemed stupid these days. Among them were his friends. He was beginning to see how stupid they all were—how totally naive they seemed. They thought that the worst thing in the world right now was the fight that Lily and James were having. Well, what about Voldemort?! He was a pretty big threat.

But right now, to Ron, Voldemort was looking pretty good right now. After all, the most he saw from Harry anymore was the occasional hi and bye when he breezed past him in the common room, or if he was lucky Harry would sit next to him in classes and at meals.

It made Ron so mad, to know that Ginny got more attention now then him. And Ginny and Harry had just been in a fight! In fact, Ron was pretty sure that Hermione was getting more attention then him!

A deep part inside him was hurt because of this—that his best friend of five years was slowly drifting away. What had happened to the times when he had Harry would just sit back and relax in the common room while ignoring the large Transfiguration essay that was due in an hour? What happened to the days when they would go off on some grand adventure together? What had happened to the days when it was Hermione's job to be a smart know-it-all and they thought Hermione was speaking a foreign language half the time?

Those days had seemingly disappeared with the appearance of Harry's parents. Ron was mostly mad at the two people—James and Lily—for stealing away his best mate. Ron was also mad at himself, for letting him get taken away.

But now Ron really didn't care. He knew that Harry was going nowhere in life—and if he did get somewhere, it would just be because of his name and scar. He also thought that Harry was a goner anyways—if Harry didn't do something stupid to off himself, then Voldemort would take charge and kill him.

Ron was determined not to go down with him. He would do anything, _anything_…

* * *

Remus kept his eyes on the monitors. No use in slacking, after all. 

Something was going wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. Remus could feel it in his very bones—in the werewolf inside him, who was howling in panic.

It was worrying Remus so much. It wasn't James and Lily's fight that was worrying him, though that was a cause for concern. It was something else, something that he wasn't even sure of yet.

He could feel a great presence somewhere in Hogwarts—it had been concealed for years and years, but something was slowly waking it up. Slowly, slowly…

The wolf howled even louder.

That wasn't the only thing. Remus could practically smell the treachery in the air. Someone was betraying them. He couldn't just smell it, he could _feel _it.

He wasn't sure who it was. Harry? No. James? No. Lily? No. Sirius? No. Ginny? Unsure… Hermione? Unsure… Ron? No.

It wouldn't be Harry, because Harry was the very one fighting against the evils coming. Harry was doing more then anyone in the war—well, maybe not as much as Dumbledore, but Harry had done many a things to stop Voldemort from ruling the world.

It wouldn't be James or Lily. They had been killed by Voldemort, been killed by the darkness. They would never join, because they always held the night that they died in the minds. They would never join the man that killed them, and tried to kill their son.

Sirius? It couldn't be. Not after being sentenced thirteen years in Azkaban because of a murder he didn't even commit. No, he's too angry with Wormtail and Voldemort. Not only that, but Voldemort had taken his friends away for so long. He would never turn.

Ginny? Here Remus was unsure. Ginny had been possessed by Tom Riddle before. In Remus' mind, this meant that Ginny was more susceptible to the Dark Arts then anyone else. It would be easy to turn her, with just the right words.

Hermione was also an uncertainty. Remus was very sure that Hermione would do anything for knowledge. What if Voldemort could offer her more knowledge then them? Hermione would be a powerful weapon, for or against them.

There was just no way for Ron to turn. Ron had been raised in a light family all of his life. Not only that, but his sister had almost died from Voldemort. What reason would Ron have to turn? Yes, jealously might be one, but Remus was sure that Ron had gotten over that by now.

But Remus just couldn't be sure. Not anymore.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's it for chapter 38. It was all various POVs on what's been happening. I thought everyone would appreciate some insight on the characters thought. 

_**Note that you need to read:**_ I am missing my update time next time! I am taking a month off from this story—I'm going on a vacation and there is no computer there! If you look at earlier chapters, you'll see basically the same message. It will be the same vacation place.

So I won't update for about a month—I'm sorry. I really am. My writer's block is almost gone now, and I'm hoping that the vacation will erase the last of it.

I would still like prank ideas, please. I've gotten some really good ones that I plan to try out sometime (when I get back from vacation, most likely) but I would like some more so I don't run out! Thanks!

Review please!


	39. Chapter 39

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 39**

* * *

"Ouch!" cried Harry. Ginny sent him a sympathetic look from across the Chamber. Harry had, accidentally, scratched himself with one of his claws. Controlling his paws when he was in his almost-animagus form (the lion one, of course) was much, much harder then it looks. 

On the bright side, Harry's teeth were slowly turning sharp and looking more like a lion's would. Harry was extremely grateful for this because it showed that he was making progress on at least one of his forms.

His hawk form was the same as ever—he could successfully complete it. He could now easily fly around in it, and do other hawk things.

His dragon form was the same—it seemed that he was only able to get a patch of scales here or there.

For his ferret form… well, it was the same too. Though Ginny told him that his eyes looked more like a ferrets, Harry didn't really believe her.

His phoenix form seemed to have come to a complete halt. He was able to get seven feathers, and that was it. Nothing else was changing—no beaks, no wings, nothing. Harry was continually discouraged by this lack of progress on the form that he most liked.

He also found himself improving on Occlumency. Ice was still occasionally helping out—and Ice still was maintaining the shields around Harry's mind until he could do so himself. Ginny had told Harry that her shields were slowly building up, which made Harry very thankful that he was teaching her.

He was unsure for the others. He had not taught anyone else any Occlumency since all the fights had erupted. He knew that, with everything that had gone on, they most likely had not practiced any Occlumency at all.

As for swords… well, Ice said that Harry was mediocre. That was a high compliment coming from sarcastic Ice. Ginny was also improving with swords (though Ice complained about the way she swung the sword) and Harry felt proud of his girlfriend for being so persistent in learning.

Speaking of girlfriends… the Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip was tomorrow. Harry had it all planned out—sort of. He had asked his mother what girls normally liked on Valentine's Day, and Lily had answered that each girl was different in their choices of what they liked. Lily, however, highly recommended getting Ginny either flowers or chocolates.

That being said, Harry had decided on presenting her with flowers tomorrow. He had gone up to Professor Sprout and asked if she had any normal flowers, because he was at a lose of where else to go to get them. Professor Sprout, thankfully, didn't ask many questions, though she was positively beaming at being asked for _her_ flowers.

So Harry had a vase full of an assortment of flowers. He had decided to tie a red ribbon around the flowers and send them off by owl in the morning, instructing Hedwig to give the flowers to Ginny right when she got up.

Harry also planned on taking Ginny around Hogsmeade. Harry wasn't sure where to go first, but he figured that they would work that out when they got there. Harry also thought about getting Ginny another present, and had consulted his mother about that, too.

"Don't get her a necklace—that's too formal for such an early stage in your relationship. Don't get her a ring, either. A bracelet would be nice—but a bit cliché. I would recommend getting her something nice, something that she would appreciate," Lily had said.

This left Harry in a spot of trouble. He had no clue what to give to Ginny. Quidditch gear? Harry would think that would be too informal. A book? No, that wouldn't do at all. Harry was left wondering what the best gift would be.

"Harry? Are you all right?" asked Ginny. Harry snapped out of his thoughts and turned slightly to face Ginny.

"I'm fine, Gin. Just a bit tired. Why don't we call it a night and go to our dormitories?" said Harry.

"Okay Harry," said Ginny, smiling softly.

* * *

The next day, Harry woke feeling very refreshed. He had gone to bed early last night—around midnight. He was looking forward to the day. He got up, dressed (paying very close attention to what he was putting on. He wanted to impress Ginny), and went down to the common room to wait for Ginny. 

He didn't have to wait long before Ginny came stumbling down the stairs. She was positively glowing with happiness. As soon as she laid her eyes on him, she jumped the last few stairs, quickly closed the distance between them, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Before Harry could really get into the kiss, however, he became aware of wolf whistles around him. They separated to find a large amount of Gryffindors watching them, obviously amused at their display of affection.

Harry rolled his eyes at them and they all slowly drifted away. This entire time Ginny had not removed her arms from around his neck, and when he turned back to her he found himself gazing into her face, which was inches from his own.

"Oh, Harry, thank you so much for the flowers! That was so romantic of you!" she whispered excitedly. Harry smiled. He made a mental note that Ginny was a flower person.

After a few moments, they really did separate and began to head to the Great Hall for some breakfast before going to Hogsmeade. There was nervousness in the Hall, for many people had chosen this day to go out on first dates. Harry also felt some nerves, but he chose to concentrate on doing everything right today.

He sat by Ginny instead of his friends for breakfast, and when they both finished they went to the Entrance Hall so they could go to Hogsmeade. A lot of people were milling around, so Harry held Ginny's hand so they wouldn't be separated. Ginny seemed happy at this, too.

They finally got checked off the list and they proceeded to go to one of the carriages pulled by Thestrals (though Harry ignored them). Harry opened the door for Ginny and let her get in first.

"You're being such a gentleman," Ginny commented as they made the ride to Hogsmeade.

"Is that a compliment?" asked Harry, feeling proud that the day had gone great so far.

"It's definitely good," said Ginny, smiling at him. The lapsed into a silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one.

When they finally arrived at Hogsmeade, Harry and Ginny walked around the streets, simply window shopping. They came to a store filled with glass figurines. "Oh, Harry, let's go in there!" said Ginny. She didn't let him answer, instead grabbing his hand and pulling him into the shop.

The entire shop was filled with shelves full of glass figures and jewelry. Harry wasn't that interested—it was obviously a woman's shop—but he humored Ginny and let her drag him around. She came to a particular figurine and stared at it.

"Wow, Harry, look at that!" she exclaimed as she pointed to the figure of a horse. Harry stared at it, and then realized that it probably looked like Ginny's animagus form. The horse was very intricately detailed. It looked lifelike. Harry checked the price and sucked in some air. He definitely didn't have enough money for _that._

"It's beautiful, Ginny," Harry agreed. Ginny frowned and looked at the price too.

"I guess I can't get it," she joked humorlessly.

"I'll buy it for you," volunteered Harry, though inside he was mentally yelling at himself for promising her something he couldn't pay for.

"Really? You have enough? I mean, it is expensive… I'm not sure you should spend all that on me…" said Ginny.

"It's no problem," said Harry. He took the glass carefully from the shelf and approached the counter. He smiled at the lady at the cash register and set his figurine down. Ginny was still looking around the store and had not come with him.

Harry leaned forward and began to speak to the lady. "I'm not sure I have enough for this… is it possible for you to go down on the price?"

The lady frowned thoughtfully. "Well, that is one of our best figurines…" said the lady.

"How about this? I'll give you the money I have on me right now, and I'll write down on parchment that I'll give you the rest later," said Harry.

"I don't know…" the lady trailed off, obviously thinking.

"Please? It's for my girlfriend," pleaded Harry.

"Okay. But you _have _to give me the rest later," said the lady. Harry smiled.

"Thank you so much!" he said, and he emptied out what money he had on him. What he had on him barely covered even half of what the figurine cost, but Harry quickly scribbled down on some parchment that the lady gave him that he would give the rest of the money to her later. He signed it with his name.

"You have to give me the rest by one week, okay? Or else I'll get my husband to hunt you down," said the lady. Harry laughed, but he wasn't sure that she was joking. The lady accepted the money, and then took the parchment. As soon as she read his name, her pupils dilated a bit and she glanced up at him again.

"Harry Potter?" she said. She hadn't realized before that he was who he was, but Harry was happy with that.

"Yeah," he smiled at her. She blinked a couple of times, and then looked like she wanted to faint.

"Can… can I have your autograph?" she asked. "I mean… me and my family are fans of yours, and I never thought that I would meet you…"

"Well, since you've really helped me with the money issue…" said Harry reluctantly.

"Don't worry about paying me back!" said the lady quickly.

"No, no, I want to pay you back," said Harry firmly. "It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

"Thank you!" said the lady, who suddenly looked like she was about to cry. Harry was starting to feel decidedly uncomfortable. The lady shuffled around for a moment, then produced a camera. "I don't suppose I could get a picture?"

"Uh… sure…" said Harry, starting to feel _really _uncomfortable.

"Can your girlfriend take one of us together?" the lady asked, looking positively ecstatic.

"Let me ask," said Harry quickly. He went over to where Ginny was looked at some phoenix figurines and told her about the lady wanting a picture. Ginny raised her eyebrows but agreed to take the picture.

Harry led Ginny back to the lady, and Ginny took a picture of them both. Harry then signed it, and the lady looked close to tears. Harry was able to quickly excuse them both, and they escaped the shop.

Ginny, thankfully, didn't question on why he agreed to give the lady a photograph. They browsed the shops a bit. They found Ron in Honeydukes, Fred and George in Zonkos, and bumped into Lily in the streets.

"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed as they saw each other. Harry gave her a smile and led Ginny to where his mum was.

"Hi mum," he said, and Ginny muttered a greeting also.

"How has your day been so far?" asked Lily as the three began to walk down the streets.

"Amazing!" said Ginny happily. "Look what Harry got me!" she said as she held up the figure. Lily gasped and inspected it closely.

"That's beautiful!" said Lily.

"And, since it's glass, it doesn't move magically. It's more muggle then anything, though there are enchantments on it to make it shine," said Ginny. Harry raised his eyebrows, wondering how she knew this. Ginny sighed in exasperation when she realized he didn't know. "Honestly, Harry, there was a sign next to the shelves saying that!"

"Oh. I knew that," said Harry as Ginny and Lily laughed.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone, then," said Lily.

"Wait, mum, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," said Lily. Harry pulled her close and asked her how much money she had on her. After a quick explanation of what had happened in the shop (Ginny was looking in a window, so she wasn't listening in on the conversation), Lily agreed to go back to the store and pay for the figurine. She also gave him enough money to buy Ginny some lunch and some other odd objects. Lily did warn him, though, not to buy anything else as expensive as that.

After Lily had left, Harry and Ginny resumed walking down the street. "Where to next?" asked Ginny after slipping her hand in his. Harry considered this for a moment.

"How about the Three Broomsticks? I'm getting a bit hungry, so I figure we can have lunch there," said Harry.

"The Three Broomsticks it is, then!" said Ginny cheerfully as they altered their course slightly to go to the Three Broomsticks.

As soon as they opened the door to the Three Broomsticks, a blast of warm air hit them. He and Ginny had barely been paying attention to the weather, but now that they were in the warm it occurred to them how cold it was outside.

They sat down in a corner booth and Harry went to order them drinks and lunch. When he came back to the table with their orders, he found Neville, Luna, Hermione, Lily, and Remus had joined their table. Harry felt a small amount of amusement as he gave Ginny her tray of food.

"Everyone having a good time?" asked Harry as he slid into the seat next to Ginny. There were general nods of ascent around the table.

"I've bought a few new quills," said Hermione, brandishing a bag full of quills. Harry gave her a smile.

"I've been with Luna most of the time," said Neville truthfully. "We've been all over the place."

"Yes, we've visited the Shrieking Shack. And Neville and I ran into Ronald on our way into Honeydukes," said Luna. Harry nodded.

"We saw Ron there too," chipped in Ginny.

"I've mostly been in the joke shop with Fred and George. We're planning a few things for Snape," said Lily with a smirk.

"And I've just been wondering around," said Remus.

They all chatted a while as they ate their lunches. They were all having a pleasant time when James and Sirius came into the pub. Lily went silent, glaring at the two men as they spotted their table.

They made their way towards them. Sirius was looking uncomfortable, as was James.

"Can we sit here?" asked James. Not talking no for an answer, he pulled up an extra chair.

"No!" protested Lily.

"Listen, Lily—"

"I don't want to talk to you!" said Lily stubbornly. James looked uncomfortable before pulling out a box of chocolates from behind his back.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to hurt you," said James sincerely. Lily gaped at him for a few moments.

"Don't—don't think this means that I just forgive you!" Lily grumbled. James perked up a bit.

"I really am sorry," said James. He thrust the chocolates at her. "I wasn't sure if you wanted something more then chocolates—if you wanted flowers or jewelry or something, but I went with chocolates…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"It's wonderful, James," assured Lily. Sirius cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I actually have a confession to make," said Sirius. "It wasn't really James that thought of the prank or anything. I was completely behind thinking it up and everything. I just forced James into the pulling it off part," said Sirius. "So really, if you blame anyone, you should blame me."

The entire table gaped at Sirius. "And you're just now telling us?" said Lily, her face heating up.

"Well… yeah," said Sirius lamely. "I know I should've told you sooner, but…"

"Too late now," said Lily. She was glaring at Sirius.

"In order to forestall any argument, I would like to say that I'm sorry also, right now," said Sirius quickly, sensing the mood at the table turning against him.

"I give up. I just don't feel like arguing anymore," said Lily as she leaned back in her chair and sighed. James perked up some more.

"Does this mean I can start sleeping in the bed again?" he asked cheerfully. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yes, James, you can sleep in the bed again," said Lily. James gave a whoop and got up, grabbed Sirius, and began to dance, stepping on a lot of toes seeing as the room was packed.

The table laughed at this silly little show, and the mood turned happy again.

* * *

Harry led Ginny back up to the castle after a couple more hours at Hogsmeade. The day had turned out spectacular. They made it just in time for dinner, and ate side by side again. 

After dinner Harry and Ginny went out to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry had his Firebolt, and took Ginny for a ride on it. The broom was slightly weighted down with the both of them on it, but they still rode.

Harry took Ginny all over the grounds. The sun was setting, giving the whole thing a very romantic feel (even though the sunset wasn't very good). They rode over the lake, over the castle, over the forest a little ways…

"You've been so romantic and awesome today, Harry," said Ginny as they were sailing over the castle. "It's almost out of character!"

"I can provide a good time, Ginny," said Harry teasingly.

"I see that now," said Ginny playfully. They both laughed.

* * *

_/And why do I have to train on Valentine's Day?/ _questioned Harry as he swung his practice sword dangerously near Ice. Ice gave a hiss of displeasure and moved farther away from Harry. 

_/Careful, you clumsy boy! And training doesn't just stop because of a holiday/ _said Ice.

_/I've been improving, so I think that I can have one day off!/ _protested Harry, though he knew that he wouldn't win this fight.

_/Do you think Voldemort takes Valentine's Day off?/ _asked Ice.

_/I can see it now. Voldemort decked out in bright red colors with pink here and there, handing out cards and chocolates…/_

_/You are the most idiotic boy I've ever met!/ _exclaimed Ice as he narrowly dodged another swipe from Harry.

_/I know/ _said Harry, realizing that he had already lost the argument. _/At least Ginny didn't come with me. She had a great time, I think/_

_/Please, by all means, ramble on about your girlfriend. I am SO interested/ _said Ice sarcastically.

_/Okay then. So, Ginny and me…/ _started Harry mischievously. Ice gave a groan—as much of a groan that snakes can do—and began to slither away.

Harry smiled and sat down to try his animagus transformations again. He was thinking it would be best to concentrate solely on his lion form. As Harry began to change himself, he felt something… different, occur.

He felt his entire body reshaping itself—his bones melded into something different entirely and he felt fur sprouting all along his body. He could feel the swish of a tail and he was suddenly aware that he was on all fours.

He tried to get up, but found himself simply rearing up and then falling back to all fours. Harry paused, then raced over to the water to see his reflection. He felt amazed at how fast he was able to get there. He looked at his reflection, and saw not a human, but a lion.

He had completed the lion transformation.

At once, the lion's mind began to try and take over. But Harry had battled an animal's mind before, and was able to overcome it easily this time around.

Harry stood in stunned disbelief for what felt like hours, though it was only a minute or two. He couldn't believe that he had completed the form. He gave a roar, and it echoed all around the Chamber.

Harry began to test out his new form. He ran around and around the Chamber, suddenly glad that there was so much room. He found a thrill in pouncing on his bag, lying innocently near the statue. He gave another roar and began to pace around the Chamber.

A thought occurred to him—he could have much more space in another place… there would be more things to pounce on, to chase…

But he shouldn't. Going into the forest was dangerous, especially at night.

But it would be so nice to have room to run. And then, when he was done running around, he could change into the hawk form and fly out of the forest.

Harry considered it for a moment. It didn't take long to decide.

Harry left his school bag in the Chamber. He didn't even bother with the Invisibility Cloak. He transformed into the hawk, and flew out of the Chamber. This was dangerous—what if the person watching the cameras saw him? But, right before he changed into his hawk form he put a disillusionment charm on him. He was hoping it would hold while he was an animal.

He flew out an open window after getting out of the Chamber. He flew until he reached the forest, where he landed and changed into a lion. He marveled at the ease which he was transforming. He was tired, yes, but he had enough energy to romp around the forest.

He began to run. He felt so free as his paws seemingly soared over the ground. He saw a deer move in front of him, and he began to chase it. He chased it for what seemed like hours, and whenever he got close to it he purposely slowed down in order to keep chasing it.

It had been hours, Harry realized. He had been chasing down the deer for a long time. He stopped and transformed back into the hawk. He barely had any energy, and was surprised that he had managed another transformation.

He flew above the trees, soaring happily. He was sore all over from running and pouncing, but he felt free—

Until he saw only endless forest.

Harry panicked for a moment. He never did know when or where the forest stopped—it had to extend pretty far. He realized that he had gone very far, for all he could see was endless trees stretching. He squinted his hawk eyes for the Castle—how could he miss the Castle?!

He flew in a direction for a moment, then changed it before changing that direction again. He finally decided to fly once way for a while. He scored—a dot in the distance slowly became the Castle.

Harry was suddenly aware of how much his wings hurt. His entire body was very, very sore. He could barely even keep his body in the air anymore!

Harry comforted himself by telling himself that right when he got back to the castle he would go right to bed. He kept telling himself that until he saw the sun slowly creeping over the horizon. How had it gotten to be so late?! It had only been around ten o'clock when Harry was in the Chamber…

But Harry had been running around for a while.

Harry gave a small start when he realized that he was losing air. He was slowly descending—into the forest. He didn't have enough energy to keep going. He had overtaxed himself.

Harry began to take deep breaths and kept going. It was hard—every movement his wings made sent sharp stabs of pain throughout his entire body. Harry could see the Castle clearly now, and surmised it wouldn't be long until he reached it.

As soon as he cleared the forest he nearly fell to the ground. He reminded himself that he needed to get to the Chamber because all of his books were in his bags. And he realized that his disillusionment charm had worn off.

Harry was too tired to care. He flew in an open window and proceeded to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and into the Chamber. He flew down the pipe and into the main Chamber.

He finally flopped down onto the ground. With a large amount of difficulty, he started changing back. Unfortunately, it seemed, he wasn't changing all the way back. He became his normal size and shape. However, he had feathers all over his body. Not just under his robes, but also on his hands, face, and neck also.

Harry just couldn't summon the energy to undo it. He couldn't even lift himself up! He was able to reach over and grab his watch—which he had taken off in order to transform, just in case. It read 7:38.

"No wonder I can't move," muttered Harry, having difficulty even forming the words. He lifted his head up enough to glance about the Chamber, and assumed Ice had left. No wonder, if he had been gone hours.

"I need to go—breakfast should be starting soon," mumbled Harry, but he made no move to get up. He was too tired, too sore…

* * *

At first when Harry didn't come down to breakfast Ginny brushed it off as nothing. Everyone did—they just figured Harry slept in. Ginny wouldn't blame him, since he had been exhausted. 

When he didn't show for lunch (it was, thankfully, Sunday, so there were no classes), Ginny just figured he was at the library doing homework and was planning on getting food from the kitchen. However, she overheard Hermione discussing the absence of Harry with Lily. Apparently, no one had seen him all day.

When he didn't show for dinner, Ginny felt the first signs of panic enter her. She glanced over at Hermione and Ron, and Hermione was looking decidedly nervous. Ron looked… like Ron. Completely unconcerned.

She glanced up at the Head Table and saw McGonagall talking hurriedly to Dumbledore, who was looking concerned. McGonagall was looking panicked. Down the table, Lily and James were in a serious discussion, and both were looking worried. Sirius and Remus were both worried looking too.

That meant something had happened to Harry. Ginny began to nervously tap her fork on her plate. Where could he be? They had parted at the common room last night, Harry giving her a kiss and a "Goodnight." After that she had gone to her dormitory without checking to see if Harry had gone to his… what if he had gone to the Chamber?!

Ginny got up from the table. She tried not to look rushed or suspicious as she walked out of the Hall, though she didn't realize that Dumbledore was staring at her.

Ginny raced to the Chamber. She knew that she needed some sort of cover. When someone wasn't watching the camera, they just played everything back when they did get there. Which would give everything away, but she hoped it would be Lily that watched the playback. Ginny stopped at the sink and tried not to scream.

She couldn't open it. All those times Harry had left it open for her. This time it had shut. She stared at it for a moment then tried to recreate the hiss Harry had done. It didn't work. She shut her eyes.

Suddenly there came a hiss next to her. She spun around and stared at Ice as he slithered unhurriedly down the pipe. She followed the white snake and raced after him when they got on the ground.

When she entered the main Chamber she had to stifle a scream. Harry was laying, clearly unconscious, in the middle of the Chamber. She ran over to him and checked his pulse—he was alive.

"Harry?! Harry?! Are you okay?" she asked, shaking him a little. Harry gave a groan and sat up gingerly. Ginny noticed that he had feathers everywhere.

"Ginny? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Harry, everyone is looking for you! You've been gone the entire day… when you missed lunch people started to get suspicious. I figured out where you might be during dinner," said Ginny. Harry nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. The feathers disappeared.

"I changed into the lion last night, Ginny!" said Harry proudly. "I went for a run in the forest, but I went for hours without realizing it… then when I started flying back to the castle I found that I could barely go on. I had used too much energy… when I got back to the Castle it was around 7:30," said Harry. "I meant to just close my eyes for a moment and gather the rest of my energy to make the feathers disappear and go to breakfast, but I must have fallen asleep."

"Of course you fell asleep! You've been asleep all day! Everyone is worried, Harry!" said Ginny. She helped him to his feet. He swayed a moment before regaining his footing.

"Thanks, Ginny. If you hadn't found me I might have slept another day or two and got people _really _worried," said Harry gratefully. "Hell, I feel like just laying right back down and going to sleep again…"

"Don't you even think about it!" snapped Ginny. "And what are you going to tell people?"

"I'll tell everyone that I had decided to go for a walk around the lake and fell asleep behind a bush there, and then when I woke up I decided to do homework behind that bush because it was peaceful. I'll just say that Dobby brought me the food and books."

"Should we tell Dobby first?" asked Ginny as she picked up Harry's bag for him and helped him out of the Chamber.

"I doubt they'll try to confirm the story," said Harry. "And even if they already asked him, I'll say that I told Dobby I didn't want to be disturbed."

"Quick thinking, huh?" said Ginny jokingly. Harry smiled at her as they made their way to Marauder's Quarters. A frantic Lily stopped them halfway there.

"Harry! There you are!" she shouted, lunging at him and hugging him. Harry barely concealed a wince, still energy deprived and sore.

"Where were you?" asked James, who had been behind Lily. Harry recounted the story he made up, and they seemed to accept this. They took him to Marauder's Quarters where he was thoroughly questioned again, this time by Hermione and Remus. Sirius sat back listening.

"Someone will have to inform the Headmaster," said Lily.

"I'll do it," volunteered Hermione as she got up and raced out the door.

"Do you mind if I go to bed now? I'm a bit tired still, and I'm sore from sleeping on the ground," said Harry.

"Of course!" said Lily, shooing him out.

* * *

Lily smiled happily. She was so glad that Harry was back! She had gotten really worried, which wasn't the best thing ever. She glanced down at her stomach that had already grown pretty large. Larger then it should at this stage. 

She was happy she was having another child—she really was. She was already picking out names for the child. However, she knew that soon she would have to quit teaching charms. It just wasn't logical that a pregnant woman should go about her job when it gets hard to move around.

Already James seemed to be worrying about her more then normal. It had barely even been a couple of months! Okay, so Lily was already feeling all the symptoms of pregnancy. And her stomach was already growing to epic proportions. But still… James didn't need to worry that much.

Though, if her stomach kept on growing at the rate it was, James would have a legitimate reason to worry. She was worried that the baby might be born premature. And that wouldn't be good.

* * *

After a fierce game of rock-paper-scissors, it was Sirius stuck watching the tape from when no one monitored it. He was bored out of his mind—as he always was when he was on monitoring duty. No one had watched it during breakfast—and they all had had an early start and gone to breakfast around 7:15. So, watched the tape, Sirius sat up from his slouched position as he saw a hawk fly through a window and go down into a pipe in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. 

Hold on.

That was Harry. Harry had a hawk form. And Harry was the only one who knew how to open the Chamber. Sirius watched as the Chamber closed behind Harry.

What was going on? Sirius carefully watched the tapes. Parts that had been monitored during the day were skipped over, and soon it came to dinner.

He saw Ginny run into the bathroom. She tried to hiss something, but the pipe didn't budge. Ice came along and opened it. For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then Ginny and Harry came out of the pipe.

"—I doubt they'll try to confirm the story," said Harry. "And even if they already asked him, I'll say that I told Dobby I didn't want to be disturbed."

"Quick thinking, huh?" said Ginny. Sirius watched as Lily and James found Harry.

Sirius leaned back in his chair. What did this mean?

* * *

Donna let out a harsh breath as she walked along the corridor. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. She was experiencing blank-outs at the worst times. Especially, it seemed, around Bellatrix Lestrange. 

She wasn't sure what these meant. And she found herself having disturbing flashbacks too, that she could never seem to remember—she only vaguely remembered having them.

It scared her. Donna really wasn't sure what to do. As she walked along the corridor, she considered her options. She could ask the Dark Lord about what was happening.

No. The Dark Lord would be most displeased if he found out about her predicament. She could barely even remember their plans!

Dumbledore?

No. She would never forsake her Master that way.

So whom could she go to? Who?

She wasn't sure if she could trust anyone anymore. Even herself.

* * *

Ron was staring out the window again. 

Why was everyone so worked up about Potter being gone for a day? He could remember days when he hadn't gone to breakfast, lunch, or dinner and no one sent out a search party for him.

Potter always got the best of everything. He did! The one thing Ron thought he had that Potter didn't was parents—and Potter had to go and get his back.

Now Potter was suddenly getting powerful and smart and cool and handsome—Ron wasn't sure how to handle this new and improved Harry Potter.

Not only that, but Potter was dating his sister. His sister! Potter was paying more attention to Ginny then to him. It hurt. It hurt a lot to be replaced by her.

Ron sighed and considered everything. All right, he could see why everyone was so concerned about Harry. After all, he was supposedly pretty important, being the boy-who-lived and everything. But still… no one needs to worry about him this much.

Harry was fifteen, for goodness sake! He could take care of himself without his mother hovering over his shoulder and his father watching his every step! Ron didn't have his parents teaching at Hogwarts—Ron didn't need that constant protection, and Harry didn't either. They had done fine all the years before this! Okay, so they had gotten into some trouble. But it all worked out, didn't it? They were all alive, weren't they?

With the way everyone was acting, it was like Harry would drop dead at any moment.

Ron began to glare out the window.

"What did that poor window ever do to you?" broke through Ron's musings. Ron looked up into the face of his sister, and Ron felt a surge of hatred. Ron blinked, and the hatred was gone, simmering under the surface.

"Nothing, Ginny. Just thinking, you know?"

Ginny gave a laugh.

Ron still felt the hatred, hovering there, waiting to strike.

* * *

A/N: Okay, it's been over a month. But I took a few extra weeks off to rethink parts of the story. And then HPDH came out, and I waited another week because I didn't want to update on the same night HPDH came out. 

But I gave you a 6,000 word chapter instead of my usual 4,000 words! So that should make up for everything—hopefully.

I'll be returning to my "update every two weeks" schedule. I'm also hoping to finish off this story soon and start on its sequel. Hopefully I'll end it soon.

Forgive any grammar or spelling mistakes!

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!


	40. Chapter 40

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 40**

* * *

"And Gryffindor wins the match! 240 points to 30!" cried out the commentator, Lee Jordan. 

The stands erupted into cheers. Ron had improved amazingly at his Quidditch skills. Their team was really beginning to come together. Harry held up the snitch, grinning. He was so glad that he wasn't banned from Quidditch. The proud smiles on his parent's faces incited a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, too.

* * *

Harry was heading down to lunch the next day when a voice sounded out from behind him. 

"Ah, Mr. Potter. May I please see you in my office?" came the warm voice of the Headmaster. Harry whirled around, startled that the Headmaster had come up behind him without him noticing.

"Uh—yeah. Of course," stammered out Harry as he followed Professor Dumbledore. They reached the gargoyle fairly quickly and Dumbledore gave the password—chocolate frogs—before going up to his office.

Dumbledore settling himself behind his desk while Harry sat in a comfy, overstuffed seat before it. Dumbledore picked up a dish of lemon drops, offered him one, and when Harry politely refused he chuckled. "No one seems to like to eat these. Nonetheless, I find them particularly delightful."

"Not to be blunt, sir, but why have you asked me here?" asked Harry. Harry noticed that Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding Harry's eyes, and Harry felt the first stirrings of annoyance.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I think that it is time that we take actions against Voldemort. I believe that you need to guard your mind against him and stop these visions that you've been having," said Dumbledore as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

"Guard my mind?" said Harry with a sudden sinking feeling. He was pretty sure what was coming next…

"Yes, guard your mind. I believe that the use of Occlumency would be sufficient for blocking him out," said Dumbledore.

"Occlumency?" said Harry. Tendrils of panic were beginning to curl in his stomach. He was pretty sure—not positive, of course—that Dumbledore didn't know about Ice. If Dumbledore realized that Harry already knew Occlumency, and he asked about it… Harry would be forced to tell him about Ice, and no matter what Harry didn't want Ice to be discovered and forced to leave.

"Yes, Occlumency. It is mental shields, if you will, that guard against Legilimency. Your teacher will most likely explain everything," said Dumbledore slowly.

"My teacher? What, aren't you going to teach me?" asked Harry, sitting up straighter.

"No, my boy, I believe that Professor Snape will be better suited to teach you Occlumency," said Dumbledore.

"No," protested Harry.

"No?" asked Dumbledore, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't want my mind raped by Snape!" snapped Harry. At Dumbledore's reproachful look, Harry glanced down at his knees.

"Professor Snape, Harry. And I trust Severus Snape with my life—you needn't worry about him taking advantage of this situation. He will teach you how to shield your mind against Legilimens," said Dumbledore.

"No offense, Professor, but while you may trust him I don't. I will worry about him taking advantage of the situation because he probably will, and I doubt that he'll teach me anything," said Harry. "And I refuse to be taught by him, too." The twinkle dimmed in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Harry, I'm sure that if you would just trust Professor Snape a bit more—"

"If I trusted him more then I wouldn't be having this argument with you," said Harry, boldly interrupting Dumbledore's speech. "But the fact remains that not only do I not trust him, but he happens to hate me, my father, and my mother. That's not someone I would trust with my mind,"

Dumbledore sighed and seemed to think this over. "Well, Harry, there are no other teachers available at the moment…"

"Excuse me, Professor, but aren't you an accomplished Legilimens?" Harry interrupted again, feeling that he was pushing his luck.

"Yes, Harry, but I have my reasons for not teaching you myself," said Dumbledore carefully.

"May I ask what those reasons are?"

"I will tell you in time, my boy, but for now just be assured that these reasons are valid. However, you should really learn from Professor Snape. He knows a lot about the mind, and you can really benefit from his tutelage,"

"Like I said before, sir, I don't trust Professor Snape. I don't trust him with my mind—or my life, for that matter. Too much animosity is between us for me to ever want to learn Occlumency from him. And…" here Harry trailed off. Should he tell Dumbledore about Ice? Dumbledore solved this problem, though.

"Please consider this," said Dumbledore. Harry understood the finality in his tone and got up to leave.

* * *

"What did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?" asked Ron as soon as Harry sat down at Gryffindor Table for lunch. 

"I'll tell you later," muttered Harry. He glanced up to see a concerned look on Lily's face. She must have seen Dumbledore ask Harry to his office, too. Or maybe Dumbledore told her what he was asking him?

He made a mental note to ask his parents what they thought. He began to pile some food on his plate as he listened to the conversation around him.

"Hey, Harry, do you have a moment?" asked Cho Chang nervously. Harry looked up and blinked for a moment, wondering what in the world she would want to talk to him about.

"Uh, yeah, sure, Cho," he said, getting up when she gestured for them to talk outside the Hall. Harry followed her to a small nook outside the Hall and waited for her to start talking.

"I… I just wanted to... to talk to you about… about Cedric," said Cho. Tears began to fill her eyes at Cedric's name. Harry inwardly groaned. He did not know how to deal with crying girls. Fight off Dolores Umbridge? Sure. Kill a basilisk? Yeah. Fight a dragon? Of course! Deal with a crying Cho Chang? He would rather face both the dragon, basilisk and Umbridge at the same time.

"Er—okay. Sure," said Harry awkwardly.

"I just… just wanted to know… know if Cedric said anything… anything about me before he… he… he… you know…" she stammered, tears beginning to trail down her cheeks.

"Uh… well, you see, Cho… there wasn't much time for him to say anything," said Harry, feeling more and more like he wanted to run by the second. He cursed as he saw her give a small sob.

"Nothing? He… he… didn't give you a… a… message to deliver to me… or anything?" she stammered.

"Well, no. But it all happened real fast—like I said, there wasn't any time…" said Harry, trying to keep his voice sympathetic. He wished that he could do something to make her stop crying.

"So… so… there was… nothing… he said?" she muttered, her face tearstained and her eyes reddened.

"Well, no," said Harry. Seeing that Cho was about to start wailing, he quickly racked his mind for something to say. "I'm sure that if he was given time, though, he would have said something. Everyone could tell that he cared deeply about you."

Harry cursed his luck when he saw that that made another bout of tears go down her face. He tried to think of something else to say—something that would make her happy—but couldn't think of anything. Cho surprised him by what she said next.

"Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me," she said. She gave him a teary, depressed smile before walking off. Harry blinked for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. He shook his head. Women.

* * *

Later that day, in the common room, Ron said, "Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them." 

"Yeah," agreed Harry.

"Excuse me," snapped Hermione. "Just because you guys have the emotional ranges of teaspoons…"

"We don't!" protested Ron. Harry thought he saw something flash briefly in Ron's eyes. He couldn't identify the emotion, though.

"Honestly, you don't know a thing that Cho is going through!" said Hermione.

"Explain it to us, then!" snapped Ron. The ferocity of this comment left them all speechless as they stared at Ron. Ron coughed uncomfortably. "Sorry about that… I haven't been sleeping that well lately…"

Harry nodded in sympathy. He hadn't been sleeping that well either—he had been having dreams of going down dark corridors with locked doors, and the summer before he had been plagued by nightmares of the graveyard incident. Thankfully the nightmares of the graveyard incident were all nearly gone. They seemed to have been flushed out with the appearance of his parents.

Not only this, but he hadn't been sleeping much at all lately. Coming back from the Chamber at five in the morning, only to get up a couple hours later was not what one would call a restful night of sleep. Sometimes Harry would wake up feeling tired then he had before he had gone to sleep.

"That isn't an excuse to snap at us," said Hermione, though the fire had gone out of her words. Her eyes showed sympathy also.

"Sorry," muttered Ron, looking away.

* * *

"What did Professor Dumbledore talk to you about?" was the first thing heard as Harry stepped into Marauder's Quarters. 

"Hello mum, nice to see you too. I've been well, thanks. How have you been?" asked Harry sarcastically.

"Sorry Harry," said Lily sheepishly.

Harry took a good look at Lily. Her stomach was already swelling—it looked much bigger then it should at this stage. A lot bigger. He shrugged it off, for his mother still looked very healthy. She was still teaching charms, too.

"It's okay," he responded. "Dumbledore wanted to talk to me about learning Occlumency. He doesn't know that I already know it… and he doesn't know about Ice, either," said Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore, Harry," corrected Remus from the corner of the room where he was watching the monitors.

"Why didn't you tell him that you already know Occlumency?" asked Lily quizzically.

"It would mean telling him about Ice! And I don't want Ice taken away because he's not allowed…"

"The staff aren't allowed to take away familiars, Harry," called James from where he was playing chess with Sirius. James leaned over the board for a moment, then straightened up, pretended to yawn, and knocked over the board.

"James! That's the seventh time you've done that today!" protested Sirius as all of the pieces began to call James rude names.

"Sorry," said James, not sounding sorry at all.

"What do you mean that they aren't allowed to take away familiars?" asked Harry, trying to direct the attention back to himself.

"They aren't allowed to take away familiars because most of the familiars are able to break through the wards. This would defeat the entire purpose of banning them, and defeat the purpose of students having familiars. Of course, if the familiars are dangerous, then they would be banned. However, since most students bond with non-dangerous familiars—most cats or toads, or something like that—there really isn't a problem. And since Ice has been here this entire time, it doesn't really matter since the snake hasn't attacked anyone," concluded James.

Attack… attack… it suddenly hit Harry.

"Hold on—didn't Dumbledore see Ice when I was in the hospital wing?" asked Harry as he cursed his stupidity. Why hadn't he remembered that when he was talking to Dumbledore? Then everything would be properly explained and Dumbledore wouldn't expect him to take lessons from Snape!

"Smooth move, there, Harry," muttered Sirius as he began to re-set up the chessboard.

"Thanks, Sirius. I knew it was," said Harry dryly as he put his head in his hands. He ignored Sirius and James' snickers as he walked out of Marauder's Quarters.

* * *

"You yelled at him?!" exclaimed Ginny as she finished listening to Harry's tale. 

"Well, not exactly yelled. Just… talked firmly. And I kept interrupting him," said Harry uncomfortably.

"Basically, you told him off," snickered Ginny.

"Thanks for the support," murmured Harry as they continued their walk around the lake. For late February, the weather had turned surprisingly nice. It was warm enough to take walks, but still cold enough to wear cloaks.

"Fancy a visit to Hagrid?" asked Harry as he spotted the cabin in the distance.

"Sure, why not," said Ginny. Harry smiled at her as they both went down to Hagrid's cabin.

They knocked on his door. They heard Fang barking, but Hagrid didn't answer his door. Harry and Ginny exchanged quizzical looks before banging on the door louder. "Hagrid? It's us! Harry and Ginny!" Harry called through the door. No one answered, except for Fang, who continued to bark.

"I guess he's in the forest," said Ginny.

"He would take Fang with him," pointed out Harry.

"Well, he could be doing something in the forest that he didn't want Fang to get hurt from, or something," said Ginny, though she didn't sound confident in her answer.

"Maybe he's in the castle," said Harry, which eased both of their worries. They began to make their way back up to the castle, only to turn around at Fang's continued barks to see Hagrid come out of the forest.

"He was in the forest," said Ginny.

"Yeah. Fang must realize that Hagrid is back, and that's why he's still barking," said Harry. They watched Hagrid go into his Hut, before they began to walk back to it.

They knocked on the door again, and this time Hagrid answered. His nose looked freshly broken, and there was a large scratch across his forehead. Harry winced in sympathy.

"Are you okay?" asked Harry as he slid into the Hut with Ginny right behind him.

"Of course I am!" said Hagrid as he began to bustle around the Hut, making tea. Ginny was frowning at Hagrid.

"Where do you keep getting these injuries?" she asked.

"Ah, these? They're nothin'," muttered Hagrid as he set a plate of cakes in front of them and some tea. Harry picked up the tea, but avoided the cakes. Ginny, however, didn't seem to know about Hagrid's cakes, and picked one up to eat.

"Ouch!" moaned Ginny after she bit into it. Harry gave her a sympathetic glance before drinking a bit of tea. He did everything he could not to spit it out—it was a bit bitter.

"Wha's wrong?" he asked as he glanced at Ginny's pain stricken face.

"Oh… I just jammed my finger on the table," said Ginny quickly. Hagrid seemed satisfied with this excuse and began to bustle around. Harry was suddenly aware the his robes were wet… he glanced down and winced in disgust when he realized that Fang was drooling all over him. Harry offered Fang a cake. Fang sniffed it, whimpered, and fled to the corner. Harry made a mental note to do that every time Fang came up to him.

Harry was suddenly aware that Hagrid and Ginny were talking.

"Yeah, tha' Donna Umbridge is in with the Minister, too," said Hagrid.

"Yes, that's what I heard. Apparently she's even higher then her sister. That's why Fudge didn't want her put in the post—because he liked her by his side."

"And I don' blame 'im!" said Hagrid.

"What?" asked Harry quizzically.

"Harry, you have to admit, Donna is quite good-looking," said Ginny, giving him a smile. "Though I'm actually quite glad that you didn't notice."

The rest of their evening was spent with Hagrid. When dinnertime came, Hagrid sent them off with their pockets full of his cakes. As soon as they went inside Ginny seemed to be abducted by her friends in her year—one moment she was standing next to him, the next moment she was sitting on the bench with her friends. Harry marveled at the speed girls could travel as he sat down at the table.

"Hey, Harry."

"How have you been?" Fred and George sat down next to him, each talking one after the other.

"I've been well, thanks," said Harry carefully.

"Well? Your mother has taken over your vocabulary," noted George.

"If we had asked you that last year you would have commented that you were good," smirked Fred.

"Poor Harrykins, forced to grow up and get a vocabulary," sighed George.

"The good days are over. Next thing we know you won't be in the hospital wing for months!"

"Now _that _would be a miracle,"

"A miracle indeed. I'm surprised with the tight leash Lily has on him that he's still being himself and failing his classes!"

"I'm not failing my classes," pointed out Harry.

"We're deeply disappointed in you, then," said George unhappily.

"Good to know," said Harry as he began to eat some chicken.

"Are you brushing us off?"

"I think he is."

"Come on, George, let's go somewhere where we're appreciated!" said Fred. The twins got up at the same time, sniffed, and walked off. Harry shook his head at their antics and got up. He needed to visit the library to research some potions for Snape.

* * *

_/Stupid boy/ _hissed Ice. _/Swing the other way, the other way—not that way! Are you trying to take my tail off?!/_

_/Yes/ _Harry hissed back as he took another swipe at the snake. Ice gave a panicked hiss.

_/If you hit me, then I will—/_

_/You'll what? Glare at me?/ _teased Harry lightly.

_/I'll take your tail off!/_

_/I don't have a tail/_

_/I'll improvise/ _said Ice darkly. Harry shivered and got back to practicing with his sword.

_/SWING THE OTHER WAY!/ _Ice protested again.

_/I did!/_

_/You were supposed to swing that way last time, and then this time you were supposed to swing like last time! You left yourself wide open… you would have been killed in an instant in a real sword fight!/_

_/Well, I'm not in a real sword fight right now, so I think I'm safe/_

_/For the moment. But don't come crying to me when you get your head chopped off because of your carelessness!/_

_/First, I wouldn't be crying. I would be dead. Second, you would be the last person I would go to, because you're a snake. What could you do to help my chopped head?/_

_/Very funny, you stupid boy. Get working!/ _snapped Ice.

_/Yes ma'am/ _

_/…/_

_/No response to that one, huh?/_

_/You're a stupid, lazy child. You're just trying to distract me from criticizing you!/_

_/If I was trying to distract you, I would be swinging the sword at you—like this/_

_/YOU USELESS CHILD! STOP BEFORE I BITE YOU!/_

_/I'm SO scared/ _

_/You should be/_

_/I was being sarcastic!/_

_/No you weren't. I could tell, you stupid child/_

_/You couldn't tell your front end from your back!/_

_/It's difficult not to, you stupid boy! Why, oh why, did I have to have a master like YOU? Why couldn't I have a strong, dependable master instead of an impudent, unruly 15-year-old?/_

_/Because I'm the only one other then Voldemort who can speak Parseltongue. And, admit it, you love me/_

_/Love?! You are growing insane. Maybe it's from lack of sleep—you can go to bed early tonight, master, if tomorrow you don't spit out such crazy statements/_

_/In denial, are we?/_

* * *

The next day Harry was feeling quite refreshed from the five hours of sleep he was able to get. He felt ready to tackle the Monday. And it helped that he had Binns first period, and fell asleep in there too. 

After that, though, his day got progressively worse. He lost ten points from Gryffindor for doing the potion wrong in Snape's class, and he got a zero for the day. In Divination Trelawny predicted his death—again—and Harry nearly got sick from the amount of perfume in the air.

Then, during Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry could really feel his patience waning. Donna Umbridge had picked up where her sister left off. However, Umbridge required them to write summaries of the chapter for homework. It was dull, boring work and no one really wanted to do it.

Donna Umbridge prowled the classroom quietly while everyone was reading. Harry stared at her for a while, trying to see what Ginny said about her being pretty. He supposed she was. Her face was a composed stoic mask, slightly like Snape's. She had cool violet eyes with an upturned nose that made her look slightly arrogant. She had thin, unforgiving lips. Her black hair fell down to her stomach (maybe even a bit further, but Harry couldn't tell) and it shone in the light. Donna Umbridge was definitely not a model-beauty, but she was attractive in her own way.

"Is there a reason that you're staring at me, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Umbridge as she passed him by.

"No, ma'am," Harry said quickly, looking down at his book and not taking in a word that it said.

* * *

Why had Potter been staring at her? Donna couldn't really guess why. She knew that he was on to her, but she didn't think he had realized the extent to which he was involved in things. 

She wasn't sure if _she _even knew the extent to which she was involved in things. Donna sighed and sat down at her desk, gazing around the classroom. Her eyes settled for a moment on Ronald Weasley. At that moment, Weasley looked up and their eyes met.

Donna smiled.

* * *

Sirius simply couldn't figure out what was going on with Harry. He had asked Lily, and found himself quickly brushed off by her. He asked Remus, and found Remus making an excuse about going to the library and talking to him later (which Sirius planned on doing). He confronted Ron and Hermione (who he was beginning to think knew nothing). He went to Ginny, and Ginny gave a vague reply before saying something about going to the bathroom. 

So. That meant that those three knew something. Ron and Hermione didn't (Sirius was surprised that Hermione knew nothing about what was going on). He knew that James wouldn't know anything. So that left Remus, Ginny, and Lily who knew what was going on.

So… why was he being left out of whatever was going on? And, more importantly, WHAT was going on?

So, squaring his shoulders, he went to go confront Harry.

* * *

A/N: Definitely back on schedule, though I've found myself horribly busy as of late. Sorry if this chapter is slightly bad—I wrote it in a couple of hours before I updated it. I've been sleep deprived. 

Someone pointed out that last chapter was very… romantic. Yes, it was meant to be. Don't worry, action/adventure is the main genre of this story. Romance isn't going to be a main thing.

Review please.


	41. Chapter 41

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 41**

* * *

"Harry? I need to talk to you," Harry glanced up from his book in the library and stared at Sirius. There was a serious—no pun intended—look on his face, as well as a determined one. 

"Er—sure, Sirius," said Harry as he carefully marked his page and shut the book. "What's wrong?"

"Can we go somewhere more private?" asked Sirius as he glanced around suspiciously at the libraries' occupants—which included a couple of second years and a fifth year.

"Okay," Harry shrugged, standing up and stretching a bit. The library really needed new chairs…

Harry followed Sirius out of the library. As they were walking along the corridor, Sirius asked, "Do you know anywhere private we can talk? A place where _no one can get to us?_"

Harry frowned at Sirius' tones. It was like Sirius was implying something. Harry racked his brains, trying to figure out what Sirius was getting at.

Then it hit Harry.

He froze and looked at Sirius, but Sirius was looking ahead, not even glancing over at him. Icy dread was beginning to fill up Harry.

_He knows. _

How, Harry didn't know. I mean, this was _Sirius_! He doesn't figure stuff out! Someone would either have to flat out tell him, or parade a huge hint in front of him. Even if they did do one of those things, it would be doubtful that Sirius would understand.

Okay, maybe Harry was underestimating his Godfather a little bit. But still. Sirius wasn't the sharpest quill in the pack, and he never really would be. To think that Sirius, of all people, had figured it out before some of the smarter ones (namely Hermione), was simply mind-boggling.

Harry gave a start, realizing that he had stopped in the middle of the corridor and Sirius had continued on without him. Harry hurried to catch up, and was out of breath by the time he was walking beside the older man.

Harry followed Sirius to an old, unused looking classroom. Sirius turned, pointed his wand at the camera, and muttered something under his breath. Harry didn't catch what is was, but by the way the camera beeped Harry could only guess that the camera was turned off.

Sirius also turned and shut the door, and cast what seemed to be a couple of privacy wards and silencing charms. Harry waited nervously. When Sirius finally turned to him, Harry opened his mouth and asked, "What do you know, and how long have you known it?"

Sirius seemed a little surprised at this, but he said suspiciously, "All I know is that you were in the Chamber of Secrets a couple of days ago—on the day you collapsed, and that before you collapsed you flew into the school in your hawk form. What is going on, Harry?"

Harry began to consider what to tell him. Okay, so Lily knew about the animagi forms and Remus knew about the Chamber—no, wait, Remus was the one who knew about the forms along with Lily—no, Lily didn't know anything about the forms. It was Remus and McGonagall who knew about the forms, while Lily knew about the Chamber. Or—wait, was it Remus who knew about the Chamber while it was Lily and McGonagall who knew about the forms? No, he remembered that he had shown his mother the Chamber once before. Maybe?

Harry could feel a headache coming on, not to mention a harsh feeling of dread at the fact that he couldn't get the facts straight on who knew what. He couldn't very well mention the Chamber to Remus if Remus only knew about his animagi forms, right? That is, IF Remus knew about his animagi forms. Harry barely contained a wince at the realization that everything was getting so tangled up.

"Well?" asked Sirius impatiently, drawing Harry back to the present. Harry made a quick decision. Sirius already knew about the Chamber, so he was going to have to tell him about that. He wouldn't mention the Sword of Merlin, though, nor his animagi forms. He also wouldn't tell of any involvement—meaning he wouldn't tell Sirius about how Ginny, Remus, Lily, and McGonagall knew some things about him. He knew that if he did, that would mean Sirius might talk to them about it, and they would all discover the holes on the stories, and they might all piece the entire thing together.

Of course, Harry could just come clean about the entire thing. But that would be admitting that he had told only half-truths—and in some cases, lies—and it would also be admitting to his father that he stole from the vault, and he would also be forced to talk about his newly acquired skills. There was also the problem that his parents or someone might attempt to stop him from practicing, which Harry didn't want. And, if he told the entire truth, parts might start to get out to other people—and then the secret weapons he had wouldn't be too secret anymore, especially with the Hogwart's gossip system.

This also meant that Harry would have to start trying to teach everyone Occlumency again. He could only hope that they would try to meet him halfway with this. The only one he had really been teaching lately was Ginny, because she was always in the Chamber with him. Well, he was also teaching himself, but that didn't count because Ice constantly had his own shields around his mind. Harry didn't know what he would do without Ice and his tutelage—and protection.

"_Well?"_ snapped Sirius, getting more impatient by the second. "What's going on, Harry? Why were you in the Chamber of Secrets? Where were you when you were in your hawk form? _What's going on?_"

Harry took another second before replying, trying to choose his words carefully. "I was in the Chamber because I was training," he began, but Sirius interrupted.

"What?! Training?! What do you mean, training?" he demanded.

"If you would let me finish, I would elaborate for you," snapped Harry. Sirius threw Harry a glare, but otherwise stayed silent. "Anyways, I was training. Yes, training. I've been going there all year—_yes,_ Sirius, all year—training. Ice has been helping out, and I've been practicing my animagi forms, Occlumency, and some magic," said Harry. He conveniently left out the fact that he was beginning to get proficient in both wandless and wordless magic, also, though he hadn't practiced it for a while—Ice preferred to concentrate on swords, Occlumency, and animagi at the moment.

"Why were you dow—wait, what do you mean, _animagi FORMS? _You mean you have more then one form?!"

Well, maybe his statement wasn't carefully worded after all.

"No," said Harry quickly, maybe a little too quickly in his haste to cover up his mishap, "I hadn't meant to say that."

"I think you meant to say that. You just didn't mean for me to find out," said Sirius, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. He was glaring at Harry full blast now. It was obvious that he knew that Harry wasn't telling everything that he was doing.

"I really didn't," said Harry, beginning to feel desperate now as Sirius' gaze turned harsher. Harry was beginning to feel trapped, and unconsciously his gaze slid to the door. Sirius immediately saw this, and stepped in front of the only way out.

"Harry, you aren't leaving until you tell me everything," said Sirius stubbornly.

"Wha—I did tell you everything!" Harry feebly protested. Sirius raised and eyebrow, and Harry sighed. "Okay, fine. I have… two animagi forms. I didn't want to tell anyone because I wanted it to be a secret," he admitted.

"Really?! So that's why you were out so long when you took the potion!" said Sirius gleefully. "What's your second form? Have you made any progress on it?"

"My second form is a lion," said Harry, suddenly feeling proud of himself when he saw Sirius' beaming gaze, "and just the other night I completed it. That's why I was outside—I was in the Forbidden Forest, testing the form out. However, I used a bit too much energy… that was why I was out all day," explained Harry.

"Bloody brilliant! Can I see it?!" asked Sirius excitedly. Harry nodded and, concentrating hard, transforming into a lion. Sirius laughed and pounced on him, stroking his wild mane of hair happily. "That's my boy!" he laughed. Harry gave a small roar, and Sirius laughed some more.

Harry could barely brush off the guilt burning in his stomach.

"Change back, I want to talk to you more," said Sirius, still smiling as he stepped back. Harry changed back and glanced at Sirius, hoping that he was done questioning him. His hope was in vain.

"So who else knows your little secret?" asked Sirius curiously.

"No one, really," said Harry, trying to look like this was the truth. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Really? I thought Lily, Remus, and Ginny knew, because they acted suspicious when I questioned them about it," said Sirius.

"You were questioning people about me?" asked Harry, his own eyebrows going up in surprise.

"Just a couple people. I wanted to know if anyone else knew, or suspected, or if it was just me," said Sirius.

"No, you're the only one. I can't imagine why they would act like that," Harry lied swiftly. Harry begged in his mind not to be caught in this lie.

"Well, I'll make sure not to tell anyone, since you want this to stay secret," said Sirius, winking at him and throwing him a smile. Harry returned the smile.

"Thanks, Sirius," said Harry sincerely.

"No problem. And remember, you can always come to me with problems," said Sirius. "I'm a good listener—sometimes."

They both laughed as they walked out of the classroom together.

* * *

"So Sirius knows…?" asked Ginny as she leaned forward and stared at Harry while he practiced with a practice sword. 

"Sirius knows little bits and pieces," said Harry. "I told him about the Chamber, and how I train in it—I told him I train myself in animagi, Occlumency, and some magic. He also knows that I have a second form—the lion one. I didn't tell him about my other three, though," said Harry as he swung the sword and nearly took Ice's tail off. Ginny watched as Ice began to hiss irritably at Harry, and Ginny resisted smiling as Harry swung at Ice again—this time on purpose, though Ginny had a suspicion that he had done the first one on purpose as well.

"What's he saying?" asked Ginny curiously.

"Just telling me not to take his tail off," said Harry, already back to practicing. Ginny sighed. She would never tell anyone this, but she secretly wished that she could speak Parseltongue, just so she could understand what Harry and Ice were saying to each other. She watched as Harry swung at Ice for a third time, and Ice began to hiss at Harry again. Harry didn't respond, so she supposed that it wasn't a big deal.

However, when Ice bit Harry on the foot, Harry _really_ began to hiss. She thought he was probably swearing in Parseltongue and didn't want her to hear. Once again, she restrained a smile and leaned back again the pillar.

She really should be practicing right now, but at the moment she was simply content to watch Harry practice. He was beginning to become better at sword fighting—better than he was in the beginning, anyways. His footwork was better—of course, Ginny wasn't a good judge of that, and even she could see that it needed work still.

And she was pretty sure that Harry was coming along great with his animagi forms, though he wasn't making any progress on the dragon and the phoenix. Ginny was pretty sure that Harry would get the ferret next, though she didn't think that he would be able to get it until the summer.

Ginny sighed a little and watched as Harry swung again at Ice. Harry had a lot on his plate, that was for sure. She was still wondering how he kept up with all his homework… though she was sure his mother helped a little with that one. This would be one of his busiest years, as it was O.W.L. year—she knew that the Professors were piling homework on him.

She blinked and stood up. There was no use wasting time—she might as well get started on some swordsmanship.

* * *

"It's freezing out here!" complained Hermione as they trudge along the side of the lake. "What are we doing out here again?" 

"Taking a walk away from everyone else," said Harry.

"Who's idea was this?!" protested Ron as they barely made their way through the sludge and snow.

"Yours, Ron," said Hermione dryly. "You got tired of the common room and commented how we should visit Hagrid… and then the next thing that happened is we're walking along the lake because Hagrid isn't in his hut."

"At least we're getting exercise," mumbled Ron, but his ears had gone red—whether from embarrassment or the cold, Harry didn't know, but he thought it was a combination of both.

"But how did we end up on a _walk_?" asked Harry, rubbing his arms in a vain attempt to keep heat in his body.

"Ron was bored, remember? And when Hagrid wasn't there, he decided for us that we should go for this walk," said Hermione.

"And Ron is right here!" protested Ron. Ron gave a slight yelp as his foot sank into some snow. "A little help, Hermione? Don't you know any heating charms, or something?"

"I left my wand at the Castle," sniffed Hermione. "I just thought we would be visiting Hagrid, not tromping around everywhere."

"Can you teach me the charm?" asked Ron desperately.

"And have you set fire to my robes? I think not," she said delicately. She gave a sigh of exasperation as her foot sank into a deep pile of sludge and wrinkled her nose as she pulled her foot out of it. It was dripping with it.

Harry simply shook his head and took out his wand, carelessly casting the warming charm over them. Ron gaped at him. "Why didn't you do that before? And where did you learn that?"

"I didn't do that before because I didn't think of it, and my mother taught it to me," said Harry. "Where did you think I learnt it? From Snape?" he asked sarcastically. Ron threw him a small glare and walked forward. Harry sighed and mentally reminded himself to keep the sarcastic comments to Parseltongue, where he could shoot them off at Ice.

"Can we go back?" asked Hermione in total exasperation. "This is ridiculous. I'm all wet. And no matter how good your warming charms are, Harry, I'm still cold."

Harry agreed. They turned around and eyed the way back warily. "Maybe we should just go across the lake?" suggested Harry. "I mean, we're almost directly across from Hogwarts now, and we'll make better time if we go back across the lake. I saw some people ice skating on it yesterday, and the ice should still be fine."

"We'll just have to be careful of weak spots," said Hermione, agreeing without quite saying so.

"I'll have Ice go ahead and check for us," said Harry optimistically.

"What?" asked Hermione, perplexed.

"Ice—my snake, Ice. You know the one," said Harry.

"Oh—when you said _Ice_ I assumed actual ice," said Hermione sheepishly.

"How will Ice be able to tell if the ice is weak or not?" asked Ron as Harry took Ice from his shoulders and set him down on the ground.

"He's good at this sort of thing," said Harry, not going into details. Harry knew that Ice would be able to tell where the ice was weak from the feel of the ice. It was just something he could do.

_/Ice, can you—/_

_/Yes, I know what you want me to do/_ snapped Ice, already making his way across. Harry blinked for a moment, trying to spot the snake on the ice. The ice was black—completely the opposite of Ice's white scales, but there was snow all over the ice. And Ice blended in perfectly with it. Harry couldn't see where he had gone.

Well, at least he knew why Ice was called "ice".

_/Well, boy, what are you waiting for? The ice in front of you is fine to walk on!/ _hissed out the snake from someone in the snow. Even with the sounds guiding him Harry couldn't spot the reptile.

"Okay, Ice says it's fine to start going," said Harry as he stepped cautiously on the ice. He walked forward steadily with Ron and Hermione on either side of him. Ron tightened his scarf around his neck and shivered.

"Even with those warming charms it's cold out!" he muttered.

"We know, Ron," said Hermione in an annoyed voice.

_/Keep moving, master… there aren't any weak spots near you/_

"Ice says to keep moving," Harry murmured as they continued on. At that moment, a large gust of wind hit them. Ron's scarf was ripped from his neck and it flew ten feet behind him.

"Oi! My scarf!" shouted Ron as, despite Harry's sudden protests, he was running back to get it…

_CRACK._

Hermione screamed as Ron fell straight through the ice.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, already going forward.

_/MASTER! NO!/ _Ice hissed loudly…

CRACK CRACK CRACK 

Harry stared as the entire lake began to crack. "Oh damn," he muttered. He glanced back at the castle—everyone would be at lunch now…

_**CRACK!**_

The last crack sent more of the ice into small islands of ice. Harry jumped on one, which tipped dangerously before stabling itself. Hermione screamed again as she nearly fell off her piece of ice. There was no sounds from where Ron had been, except for the ominous cracking of the ice.

Harry jumped from ice piece to ice piece, looking for Ron. He got to where he thought Ron should be and lit his wand, trying to see underwater. He couldn't see a thing. He looked around desperately, trying to see if Ron surfaced anywhere—he didn't spot him.

Harry took a deep breath and let it loose. Quickly he cast another warming spell on himself—this time more powerful—and a bubblehead charm (learned at Ice's encouragement).

Harry dove in.

The water hit him hard. Even through the warming charm he could feel its cold biting at him. Harry lit his wand again and began to swim around in search of Ron. He couldn't see anything through the black of the lake. There were filters of light coming through the ice, and the cracks in the ice, but he was mostly dependant on the little area of light he had.

It seemed like hours that Harry was down there, though he knew that it was only a few moments. When he saw something flash outside his bubble of light, he swam over there, only to find Ron sinking—quite fast. Harry struck out after him. However, Ron was sinking fast, and Harry had his robes and clothes weighing him down from swimming fast. Harry did the only thing he could think of—turn out the light and, concentrating hard, he wordlessly summoned Ron.

Ron came shooting back up at him. Harry grabbed Ron's arms and began the harsh struggle to bring Ron to the surface. The surface seemed so far away—when had they gotten that deep down?!

When he felt a pull at his ankles, he discovered a maliciously grinning Grindylow tugging at his feet. Harry kicked out at him, but more were coming out. They were closer to the bottom then Harry had thought. He could feel them attacking Ron, too…

Harry racked his brain to remember the spell to get rid of the little pests. His mind was blanking out—he couldn't remember… he could feel him and Ron slowly sinking deeper, and deeper…

Harry took a deep breath—thankfully his bubblehead charm was still intact—and pointed his wand at the little water demons. _Stupefy_, he thought. A red jet of light burst out of his wand and hit the nearest Grindylow. At this, all of the Grindylows scattered, leaving Harry _very _near the bottom. He was almost touching it.

Harry pointed his wand at the bottom and cast another spell. They both spot up out of the water and onto a piece of ice. Harry carefully laid Ron down on the ice while Hermione scrambled over to them. Harry cancelled the bubblehead charm and pressed his ear against Ron's chest. His heart was beating, but softly and slowly. He wasn't breathing.

Harry looked helplessly at Hermione. Hermione, however, grabbed his wand and muttered something under her breath. Ron's mouth opened and an amount of water was expelled from his mouth. Ron coughed for a moment, before opening his eyes.

Harry and Hermione both breathed sighs of relief.

* * *

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, GOING ACROSS THE ICE LIKE THAT?!" 

"W-we didn't k-know it w-would break on us!" protested Harry sourly. He held a blanket around him while Madam Pomfrey saw to Ron. He was waiting for her to give him some pepper-up potion to warm him up.

"But it was a completely stupid thing to do—"

"Lily, they aren't to blame," cut in James quickly. "They didn't realize that the ice was weak there."

"Well, they should have more common sense then to go trouping across a frozen lake," muttered Lily, but the fire had seemed to gone out of her words. James smiled at her.

"I'm sure they won't do it again," said James, turning to Harry. "You won't do it again, right?"

"I won't if I can help it," said Harry. James seemed to know that that would be the best he got out of his son, and turned brightly to Lily.

"See! He said he'll try not to. Now, there's no reason to shout, is there?" he soothed. Lily looked grumpy at being talked to like that.

"No," she said irritably. "I'm going to tell everyone it's all right. The entire school already knows about how you valiantly saved Ron from falling into the lake while the giant squid was trying to choke you and pull you down," she snorted.

"Ah, you have to love the Hogwart's rumor system," said James sarcastically. Harry only rolled his eyes.

"Here you go, Mr. Potter," said Madam Pomfrey as she shoved a steaming goblet at him. Harry smiled at her and took the goblet, quickly drinking all of its contents. He could feel steam pouring out of his ears as his entire body filled up with heat. He quickly shed the blanket, not wanting to be overheated.

"Better?" asked Madam Pomfrey, and she seemed satisfied when Harry nodded. "You can go, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley, you may also go, but please try not to fall in the lake again."

"Yes ma'am," muttered Ron, looking down at the floor with his ears red.

Harry smiled and began to lead the way out of the Hospital Wing. It seemed that after this afternoon's mishap, everything would be fine.

"Let's go to lunch in Marauder's Quarters, since you all smartly missed it today," said Lily briskly from behind Harry. There were a few mumblings of agreement before they started off towards Marauder's Quarters.

As they entered Marauder's Quarters and sat down, Harry took a deep breath and plunging into the conversation that he had been planning ever since Sirius had confronted him. "I think I should start teaching everyone Occlumency again," said Harry. Everyone fell silent, and then there were a couple of nods of agreement.

"We were wondering what had happened to the lessons," said Remus lightly, smiling at him.

"Well, with all the fights…" said Harry.

"We understand," said Lily, shooting a dirty look at James and Sirius.

Harry leaned back in his seat, satisfied. They would start learning Occlumency again, and he would learn more from—

Harry sat bolt up straight, his eyes wide.

"Harry? Is something wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Ice! I forgot about Ice! What happened to him when the ice all broke? Did anyone see him?"

There was no response as this news set in.

* * *

A/N: Well, someone asked for action, so I hoped that this satisfied you! 

REVIEW PLEASE!


	42. Chapter 42

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 42**

* * *

"Harry, come on inside. It's cold out," soothed Ginny as she tried to get Harry to move from his spot beside the lake. 

"No, I'm fine here," he said.

"Harry, you're not fine! You've been here for two days now!" said Ginny. Harry simply shifted and gazed out at the lake.

They were in a secluded spot, in some bushes so the rest of the school wouldn't gawk at him and wonder why thy boy-who-lived was sitting next to a lake, freezing his butt off. Ginny knew that Harry's body had to be sore from just sitting there for so long, but he refused to move from that spot. He just sat there, gazing out at the already frozen again lake.

"Harry, please come inside and warm up a little. You have to be cold out here…" murmured Ginny, trying to coax Harry inside. He didn't move… he didn't even look at her…

"I'm fine, Ginny," he muttered dully.

"You aren't fine!" she said. She crouched down next to him and sighed. "Harry, I don't really know what to say. You've just lost Ice… your familiar… but you can't go on like this! You've just been sitting here! Everyone is worried about you, Harry…"

"I'm fine," he said. His vibrant, green eyes had turned dull as he stared out over the lake. Ginny winced as she remembered a passage she had once read in a book…

_Familiars are usually bonded very close to their 'master'. When you are bonded, as time passes, the bond becomes stronger and stronger. The bonded might feel each other's emotions, or can even start using telepathy on each other._

_However, one of the most dangerous things about familiars is that if one dies, the other suffers. The other does not die… but the other wishes that they had. One instance this occurred was when the 'master' accidentally stepped on his rat familiar. The 'master' was so overcome with grief that he eventually died because he was neglected his needs, and stopped eating, drinking, and taking care of himself. _

_It is very important that the pet familiar never dies before the human, or 'master', does. For it might be fatal for the human. It is not, however, fatal for the familiar if their master dies, for the familiar can live on and have more 'masters'. _

This particular passage in one of the books Ginny had read had disturbed her. Of course, she had also read numerous books telling of how a human survived after their familiar was killed, but those humans feel like something was missing out of their life. This was why not many people bond with familiars.

Harry was still staring out at the lake, glassy-eyed and unhappy. Ginny sighed and sat down next to him.

Everyone had been doing their best to provide for him during this time. Lily would bring out food and force him to eat, while everyone took shifts in watching him. It was Ginny's turn now… she was, once again, trying to convince him to come back inside for a bit of warmth (Hermione kept casting warming charms on him).

"You know… this isn't the end of the world," said Ginny, gazing up at the sky. She would have loved a clear day, but the sky was full of puffy, gray clouds that covered the sun and threw shadows over everything.

"Yeah," sighed Harry as he leaned back, putting weight on his hands as he too stared up at the sky. Ginny smiled. This was the first real response anyone had gotten out of him.

"I'm sure… that in time, the pain will fade. It did for me," said Ginny quietly. She did not often prefer to talk about her incident with the diary, but at times, she felt it necessary to bring up.

"It hurts, though, Ginny," said Harry, closing his eyes, and then looking at her. Ginny felt her heart speed up as his eyes gazed into hers. They were a little less dull… he was pulling out of it. Ginny felt a swoop of relief and decided to keep him talking.

"I've never lost a familiar before—I've never even had a familiar before, so I can't give you wise advice on how to handle this. All I can say is… Ice wouldn't want you moping around like this. Ice would want you to train… and train… and train some more," said Ginny. She resisted frowning—that sounded a little corny…

Apparently, Harry was taking it to heart. He looked back up at the sky and closed his eyes once more before opening them. "I suppose," he said quietly as he stood up, then staggered before falling down. "Ouch!"

"Maybe you should lean on me before you try to walk. You have, after all, been sitting on cold ground for two days," said Ginny, helping him up. Supporting his weight, she led him to the castle.

* * *

Harry knew that he should be training. If Ice were still alive, he would be berating Harry about how stupid Harry was to stop training for even a night. However, Ice was not alive, and Harry could not bring himself to face the Chamber of Secrets so soon after Ice had died. 

So, instead, Harry found himself practicing wandless magic in the dormitory while the other boys slept. He would try to summon a quill, or something. He usually didn't do so well, but it was better than nothing.

He made no attempts at trying out his animagi forms, nor did he do any sword training. He just didn't have the heart to do something that Ice had been training him to do. Sure, in the beginning Ice had been training him on wandless and wordless magic, but that was such a long time ago. Harry felt it was easier to do those magics then something Ice had been teaching not even a week ago.

At the moment, Harry was scratching away at a piece of parchment, trying to get some transfiguration homework done. Hermione sat next to him, while Ron was off doing something—probably practicing Quidditch.

"You know, Harry, I believe that your mother is the best thing that ever happened to your studies," said Hermione, almost conversationally.

"Oh?" said Harry, pausing and scratching out a sentence on his essay.

"Yes. She's very thorough in teaching you all she knows. And she's fair on everyone in class, too… as much as everyone liked Flitwick, Professor Potter is much better than him," she said as she measured her own essay and smiled. Harry glanced over. It was four inches over the requirement.

"Yeah, she is," said Harry as he paused again, seeing a spelling mistake.

"You know, I don't think you've noticed this, but she's very popular with the students," said Hermione quietly. "Have you noticed that all the first years have gone to her when they were homesick, or some of the other years have gone to her with various problems?"

This caught Harry's attention. "Really? I didn't notice," he state, feeling slightly awkward at not noticing.

"I didn't think so," said Hermione, a hint of a smile around her lips. "Well, I just thought I should point that out to you."

"Thanks," said Harry. It was only an hour later that Harry realized that Hermione was suggesting that he go to Lily and talk about how he was dealing with Ice.

* * *

Harry didn't want to go to his mother. A week had passed, very slowly, and Harry felt no need to talk to anyone about it. He didn't want it mentioned, even though he felt a cold darkness from where Ice had once been in his heart. 

Time was not healing his wounds. Every night Harry refused to go into the Chamber, fearing the memories that would return with it. Instead he would practice magic in the dormitory, and would often sit on the windowsill and look outside.

He missed Ice. He missed his sarcastic comments, he missed how Ice always curled up around his shoulders to be carried, he missed how Ice always stole his quills because he was interested in how they worked.

He missed Ice.

And Ice was… gone.

"Harry? Are you okay?" asked Lily as she sat down next to him in the common room. Vaguely, Harry wondered how she had gotten the password, then brushed that thought off. Of course Lily would have the password.

"Of course I'm okay," Harry snapped, and instantly regretted it by the way his mother's eyes narrowed.

"You don't seem okay," said Lily slowly.

"Well, I'm fine," he tried to assure her. He began gathering up his books in hope of a quick escape, but his mother simply grabbed his arm and dragged him back into his seat.

"Not so fast. I'm not done talking with you," she said sternly. Harry sighed and prepared himself for a long, painful talk that he really didn't want to have. Lily, however, surprised him by running her hands though her red locks and sighing. "Harry, please, you can't hold this all in," she began, "we know how much you're suffering."

Seeing his dark look, she hurried to elaborate, "Okay, we don't really know what you're going through. But please, Harry, don't hold it all in. You'll be the one to suffer if you do that. Just… talk to us, okay? You don't have to talk to me, but talk to someone… Ginny… Hermione… James… just don't hold it all in. You'll be likely to burst," she said softly. She smoothed his hair back from his forehead and kissed him, right on his scar.

Harry felt strangely touched at his mother's words. "I… okay," he reluctantly agreed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Harry," said Lily. She gave him one last, lingering smile before leaving the common room.

Harry glanced around. No one had really paid any attention to what had been said. Thank Merlin!

* * *

"How's Harry been?" asked James as Lily sat down in Marauder's Quarters. 

"Oh, James, it's horrible to watch! He's so saddened by his familiar's death… at times, it's like he's dead himself, and at other times he's almost normal. Though he never jokes anymore, and I haven't heard one sarcastic comment from him. Not that he was terribly sarcastic in the beginning, but I'm pretty sure that Ice was rubbing off on him…"

"How do you know that Ice was sarcastic?" asked James curiously. "Can you speak Parseltongue too?"

"No. Don't you ever listen to Harry when he's talking, James? He's mentioned numerous times about how Ice is always a sarcastic snake. I believe that… that might be one of the traits Harry misses most about him. Ice always pushed Harry to do better," said Lily. She could feel tears welling in her eyes. She wasn't really crying for Ice… she didn't really know the snake. However, she was crying for her son, for having to go through this because of a silly mistake.

She also deeply regretted ever yelling at Harry. True, James had stopped her before she could really get a good rant going, but still. She felt torn up because she had made it worse—even a little.

"Do you think he'll be all right, James?" asked Lily.

"Yeah. He's a strong boy," said James.

Lily could feel the cliché echo around them of the last part of that sentence that James didn't utter—_"We raised him well."_

Because it wasn't them who raised their son well. It was the Dursleys—those horrible people. Who neglected her son, and still made him turn out amazing. Lily sorely missed not seeing her child grow up. She wanted to know, if they had raised him, how Harry would have been when he was eight—would he read a lot? Would he like brooms even then? Or when he was eleven—she would have liked to support him through his first year here. Or in his fourth year—she would have never allowed him to be used in that dreadful Tournament.

Lily sighed and rubbed her eyes. Nothing she could do now, she supposed, other than support him as much as possible.

* * *

It had been two weeks since the incident, and Harry still felt the same. There was that great, chilly hole in his heart in the space that Ice had occupied. However, Harry found himself losing his temper on Monday. 

The day started out bad. Harry got up, and promptly tripped over some blankets on the floor. His head slammed against Ron's bed, next to his, and he developed an aching headache.

After that, he stupidly put his shoes on the wrong foot. Annoyingly enough, he didn't realize this until he was down in the common room. He was late for breakfast because of this.

When that was sorted out, he accidentally spilled orange juice on himself. A quick scourgify removed the stains and everything, but the annoyance remained. And the headache.

Then Harry had to deal with his classes. Mondays was his worst academic days. He sat through History of Magic, and his headache pounded on. Binns' droning did not help, and Harry couldn't seem to fall asleep.

In Potions Neville blew up a cauldron—again—and Harry was splattered with messed up potion. He developed burns all over his face. His headache raged on as he finally got the antidote from Snape—but not before being thoroughly humiliated in front of the class.

In Divination Harry was about at his wit's end. Trelawny predicted his death another time, and the perfume literally made his puke. His only pleasure in that was he got it all over Trelawny as she passed by, making her emit a scream.

After spending a little while in the Hospital Wing, he finally ventured to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was late, but excused by Madam Pomfrey. So everything was fine there. Harry was almost looking forward to just reading out of the book and summarizing everything, because then nothing would go wrong, right?

Wrong. Harry had forgotten his book at Gryffindor Tower. So Umbridge gave him another book, and he was forced to copy the chapter as well as read and summarize it.

By the time he finally went to dinner, his head was aching and he had tons of homework he needed to do. Ron and Hermione were sympathetic, but they didn't really help, though Hermione advised him to go to the Hospital Wing for some medicine for his headache.

At dinner, nothing went wrong, thankfully. However, it was in the Entrance Hall that the entire day's bad events came to a bursting point.

It was Malfoy who finally brought his temper to a bursting point.

"Hey, Potter!" called Malfoy gleefully as he pushed his way through the crowd and stopped in front of them.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" snarled Harry, turning to face the blonde Slytherin.

"I've just heard that you got your snake killed off. It's about time that thing was put down," said Malfoy cruelly. "That thing is a menace to society—hey, what are you doing—"

"Say that again," said Harry darkly. His wand was at Malfoy's throat—how did it get there?—and his fist had grabbed Malfoy's collar and brought him closer to Harry.

"What, are you too deaf to hear me the first time? Your stupid little snake has died and—AUGH!" yelled Malfoy as his face burst out in boils. Harry's anger reached its boiling point and his fist slammed into Malfoy's stomach.

Harry backed away and shot off another spell at Malfoy. Malfoy's hair was shorn off completely—and with the hex Harry used, it had to be grown back, not charmed back. Pomfrey would probably find a cure within a few days, but Harry wanted Malfoy humiliated at least for a couple of hours.

Harry wasn't about to stop there. He raised his wand again, ready to strike—

"ENOUGH!" came the yell. McGonagall stalked forward, and Harry could see several other teachers pushing through the crush of students surrounding Harry and Malfoy.

"Crabbe! Goyle! Take Malfoy to the Hospital Wing. Potter, my office. Now! Move!" she barked. Crabbed and Goyle blinked for a second before dutifully trotting forward and hoisting Malfoy up and carrying him off to the Hospital Wing—Malfoy was moaning and groaning too much to walk.

"Office, Potter! Move!" she yelled at him, and Harry forced his feet into motion as he followed her to her office.

They arrived and she slammed the door behind her, turning to look at him with her nostrils flaring and her lips were as thin as Harry had ever seen them. "What. Were. You. Thinking?" snarled McGonagall. "Attacking Malfoy like that—you realize that his mother and father will be most angry, and clamoring for something to be done? You're lucky that nothing has yet happened because of that incident with your familiar and Malfoy—"

"Professor McGonagall," Harry cut in sharply, "I could not let him go on insulting Ice!"

"Potter, please, your familiar will be fine. A few words will not hurt him—"

"I see," said Harry quietly. "You were not informed."

"Excuse me?" asked McGonagall.

"Ice… Ice died about two weeks ago, Professor. Malfoy was insulting him and taunting me about his death…"

The steam seemed to vanish from McGonagall's countenance. "Be that as it may, Potter, you still have to be punished," she said slowly. "I believe a week of detentions is in order here."

"A week? Is that all you will be giving him?" asked a smooth voice from the doorway. McGonagall and Harry both whipped towards the noise to find Donna Umbridge leaning in the doorway.

"What—you cannot—"

"I gained all the privileges my sister had, Minerva," she said. "That includes altering punishments. I do not believe that a week is quite enough for the damage inflicted on Mr. Malfoy…"

"I would have done more, if you guys hadn't interfered," said Harry darkly.

"Mr. Potter!" said McGonagall. "Professor Umbridge, I must say that Mr. Potter's punishment seems suitable to the offense. Mr. Malfoy has done worse and gotten away with it,"

"So has Mr. Potter," pointed out Umbridge.

"Yes, but Mr. Potter has also saved many people," said McGonagall. "Now, Potter, please return to your common room. I have papers to grade."

Harry wasted no time in fleeing the office. Donna Umbridge did not look happy.

* * *

_The black water was pressing around him, smothering him… he was lucky that he had conjured that bubblehead charm on himself when the ice first started cracking…_

_However, that did not erase the fact that his serpentine body floated gently down and touched the body. How long would he be able to keep the air bubble around him, how long before he succumbed to blackness? _

_Then the muddy, gravely bottom suddenly gave way to a small hole… a hole? Leading to the pipes, maybe?_

_No, it did not look like a pipeline. It was much too large… maybe?  
_

_Maybe it would lead him back to the school?_

* * *

"You know, this is quite painful," muttered Ginny as she glared at Harry. He gave her a sheepish smile. 

"Well… you know that we haven't started fighting with our bare hands yet… so I just thought that we should practice together…"

"You're about ten times stronger than me!" protested Ginny as she got up from the floor, rubbing her butt. She had lost count of the number of times that she had fallen. Harry apologized profusely, of course, but it was still painful!

"Okay, ready?" asked Harry. Ginny nodded and they began to fight again. There was barely any time before Ginny was back on the floor. Ginny scowled and crossed her arms.

Ginny had originally agreed to this because she knew that it would distract Harry from Ice… after all, Ice had not covered any martial arts training, or anything of that sort. Now, though… she was getting sore, and she was thoroughly regretting ever giving her consent for something like this.

"It isn't too hard," said Harry, helping her up.

"Isn't too hard?! Well, you aren't the one that keeps falling to the ground!" snapped Ginny.

"Sorry," said Harry, not looking sorry at all. Ginny glared at him again and opened her mouth, but Harry was already going on, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get practicing again!"

"I quit," murmured Ginny as she backed away from Harry. Harry simply gave a small smile that seemed dim compared to the joy he used to express in simple facial gestures.

"You've improved since the beginning," complimented Harry.

"Yeah, well, I've still been falling to the floor," snapped Ginny.

"You'll get better," said Harry encouragingly. Ginny sighed and shrugged, and sat down on a couch that the Room of Requirement provided. Harry still seemed unable to go in the Chamber, so they were using the Room as a substitute.

"I suppose," muttered Ginny, feeling slightly depressed.

* * *

Donna scowled as she paced in her office. What was McGonagall thinking? She was the High Inquisitor—as much as the old title of her sister disgusted her—and McGonagall could not go around undermining her authority like that! 

However, McGonagall was deputy headmistress, as much as Donna didn't want to admit it, and it would be very hard to get her sacked. So Donna could only plot up ways to get her sacked that would never work. Of course, if she just killed the old woman everything would be fine… but then again, that old woman was still fit, even if she was getting on in years.

Donna sighed and sat down in a chair by a desk. A stack of parchment sat haphazardly on her desk, just waiting to be graded—they were student's essays, after all. However disgustingly mediocre everything was.

It was sickening, how little the Professors were teaching magic. There were so many types out there, and they only taught basic things in Hogwarts that would never be used in the real world—I mean, turning matches into needles? Sure, if you're a housewife you might need that trick, but really…

And especially while a war was going on! They should be concentrated on defense, not on the little other things that don't matter! Of course, if one used the spells creatively, one could seriously hurt someone with those spells—for wingardium leviosa, one could levitate someone out of a window… things like that. But students weren't taught creativity. They were taught Ministry things, which trained the students not to think for themselves.

It was truly disgusting.

* * *

A/N: Another update! This chapter was difficult to write. Hopefully it doesn't show… 

REVIEW PLEASE!


	43. Chapter 43

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 43**

* * *

February turned into March with bitter wind and ruthless snow. The weather showed no sign of letting up its brutality, and the grounds were completely covered in a white blanket. A frosty Monday found Harry Potter in the Headmaster's office. 

"Professor Dumbledore," greeted Harry as he slid into a seat across from the Headmaster.

"Mr. Potter. Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered the dish to Harry, who shook his head and leaned back in his seat a little.

"What is this meeting about?" asked Harry. His eyes slid along the wall, looking at the various pictures of Headmasters and Headmistresses. They were pretending to be asleep. Or, if they weren't, they were weird sleepers, for most of them kept opening one eye and snoring loudly.

"My boy, I have called you in here to talk about Occlumency again," said Dumbledore. "I realize that last time we had our… disagreements, but I believe that we need to discuss this a bit more thoroughly."

"I suppose I should explain my motives for not wanting Occlumency," said Harry slowly. "Well, when we last had our discussion, my… my familiar was actually teaching me Occlumency," explained Harry. At Dumbledore's inquisitive look, Harry began to elaborate.

"You see, Professor, Ice is actually a Legilimens and an Occlumens. Um… how he learned it is a good question, one that I don't recall him ever answering fully. Anyways, since he was my familiar, Ice would in turn guard my mind. However, he was teaching me Occlumency just in case. Now, however…"

"I see," said Dumbledore carefully. He was looking away from Harry, pretending not to see the pain that was written across Harry's face from talking about Ice. "And… now you must seek tutelage from someone else."

"Yes," said Harry hesitantly, "but I would prefer not to learn it from Sna—Professor Snape, sir. He hates me, and wouldn't think twice about using something from my mind against me. And I don't think that he would teach me the method that I have been using."

"Professor Snape may have a certain dislike for your father, but I am sure that he can get over his hostility long enough to teach you the skill needed to ward off Voldemort and stop any visions that Voldemort might send you," said Dumbledore confidently.

"I disagree," said Harry quietly. "I resemble my father a lot, and Snape apparently sees a lot of him in me."

"You have a large amount of your mother as well," said Dumbledore. At Harry's raised eyebrow, Dumbledore went on, "You have only seen the Lily Potter that is a mother. The Lily Potter that wants to give a proper upbringing to her son, even if that means making her child dislike her during certain times. The Lily Potter many of us know is _very_ caring and forgiving, a lot like you. Keep an open mind about your mother, Harry. Even if you have had her and your father for almost a year, you have not really made a connection with them that will make you understand them more. As much as you must hate it, you have not had the opportunity to sit down and really talk with them. Someday you might."

"Oh," said Harry. He didn't know what else to say.

"Back to Occlumency with Professor Snape. Professor Snape is willing to teach you, Harry. You just need to show him that you aren't the boy that your father once was," said Dumbledore.

"I still don't want to be taught by Snape," said Harry tersely.

"Professor Snape, Harry," rebuked Dumbledore gently. "I would teach you, but I believe that at the moment Professor Snape would be a better choice as teacher."

"Why? Why can't you teach me? What are your reasons?" asked Harry, learning forward.

"Professor Snape is a very gifted Occlumens and Legilimens. He has evaded Lord Voldemort's suspicion for several years now, which is certainly a reminder that he is very gifted with the mind," said Dumbledore.

"That doesn't explain why he's the best one to teach me," Harry pointed out.

"What I am saying, Mr. Potter, is that Professor Snape is one of the best Occlumens out there. Even better than me, I would think. I would rather you be taught by Professor Snape than me or anyone else."

"But Snape hates me!" protested Harry.

"Professor Snape, Harry. And we have been through this before."

"I still think that someone else would be a better teacher than me," mumbled Harry, though he knew that the fight was already lost. Professor Snape would teach him.

Not that he especially needed help, as Ice had already taught him a great deal, but Harry would rather someone be there to guide him in case he did something wrong. He hoped that Snape would let go of his childish grudge and teach him something, rather than attacking him or his mind.

He didn't bother voicing anymore of his thoughts or worries on the subject to Dumbledore. He knew that Dumbledore thought very highly of Snape, or else Snape wouldn't be a Professor here and Dumbledore wouldn't defend Snape all the time.

It was a time like this that Harry _really_ missed Ice. Sure, Harry missed him all the time, and the lose was painful, but Ice would usually give him advice through an ordeal like this.

Okay, Ice wouldn't. Harry would sit around and complain to Ice about the situation while Ice shot back sarcastic comments and told him to stop sitting around. But still, Harry missed those times.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, nodding to the Headmaster, who Harry was sure was twinkled at his agreement. Harry reached out to where the bond between him and Ice had once been, hoping to feel something, anything—

Why Harry bothered he didn't know, but Harry couldn't help but to reach out every once in a while. Harry felt nothing beyond a freezing hole where Ice had once been. Harry felt no warmth coming from it. It made it all too real for Harry.

Harry abruptly stood up. "I will be taking Occlumency lessons with Snape then," stated Harry, making sure his tone had a note of finality in it. He just wanted to get out of that room. It was stifling to him.

"Yes. I will inform Professor Snape that you have agreed, and I will have him inform you of a time that he can teach you," said Dumbledore.

"Thank you, sir," said Harry numbly as he started towards the door.

* * *

"So, how did it go this time?" asked Ginny as Harry sat down in the seat next to her in the common room. 

"I'm having lessons with Snape," said Harry.

"Snape?! The Snape that hates you?" said Ginny, her eyes flying wide open as she stared at Harry incredulously.

"Are there any other Snapes? I hope not," muttered Harry.

"But—what about Dumbledore?! Why isn't he teaching you? Why Snape, of all people?" asked Ginny.

"Because, apparently, Snape is the best Occlumens around here, even better than Dumbledore, so Dumbledore would prefer it if Snape taught me," said Harry. He closed his eyes, tuning out Ginny and her sympathetic exclamations.

What would Ice have to say if Harry told him about this? Harry could imagine a few possible things Ice might have said already… Ice might have told Harry that he was being a stubborn boy and slithered away, or he might have sarcastically said something about Dumbledore and his great decisions.

But Ice would call him a stupid boy, that was for sure…

It was then that Harry realized that Ice had never called him by his real name. Ice had always referred to Harry as either 'master' or 'boy'. Never Harry. If Ice had ever called him Harry, then Harry sure couldn't remember it.

Harry wondered why that was. After all, being bonded and everything would make them closer—wouldn't Ice want to call him by his first name? Then again, Harry had never told him to. But Harry had always called Ice by his name—Ice.

Harry couldn't help but wonder where Ice had gotten his name at. It wasn't a very unique name—he was simply named Ice, nothing extravagant in Latin or anything. It was obvious that whoever—or whatever—had named Ice had named him for his appearance. For the glacial blue eyes and the snow white scales that Ice has—or once had.

But Harry couldn't help but wonder who had named Ice. Ice had stated quite a few times that he was old—maybe it was in an age where names were unique, and something plain as 'Ice' seemed so uncommon that the person wanted to name Ice, Ice simply to cease with the fanciness? Or maybe whomever named Ice lived in a simple time, where simple names were encouraged.

Harry pondered on this for a few moments before shaking the thoughts from his head. He would never know, because Ice wasn't around to answer his questions.

Oh, and did Harry have questions. It was like Ice being gone had shown Harry how much he had missed out on his snake familiar—Harry already knew simple things about Ice. His favorite color, for example, was white because his scales were white. However, Harry was burning to ask more in-depth questions. He knew now that those questions would not be answered, but he was thinking more and more of them as time went on.

Why was Ice named as he was? Who else had Ice bonded to? Did he even bond to anyone else? How much power did he actually have? How old was he, exactly?

Harry sighed. The questions would obviously not be answered, no matter how many times they floated throughout his head. Ice wouldn't magically appear, answering them to the fullest extent. Ice would never appear again.

"Harry? Are you all right?" came the concerned voice. Harry jumped—he had forgotten that he was sitting in the common room with Ginny.

"What? Oh, yeah, of course," said Harry, avoiding her eyes.

"Okay. I can tell something isn't right. What's on your mind?" she demanded.

"I don't want to talk right now, okay?" Harry snapped. He immediately recoiled back as he saw Ginny's hurt look. Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at her, but it seemed that at the time she was being overly annoying…

"Well, excuse me, then," she snapped right back, the hurt in her eyes receding to anger. "I'm sorry for trying to help."

With that, she stood up angrily and swung her bag over her shoulders and stomped out of the common room.

* * *

Ginny fumed on her way to the library. That prat! She was only trying to help! Okay, so maybe she shouldn't have blown up at him. But he couldn't wallow in misery about Ice forever. Yes, Ice was his familiar. And he had to be very hurt about his lose. But all this moping around was driving her mad. She knew that he was doing his best to put on a brave, strong front for everyone, but that wasn't what they wanted! They wanted to help him through this. Unfortunately, with Harry's headstrong personality, they couldn't get through to him even if they banged him over the head repeatedly. He just wouldn't get it! 

He just wouldn't get that they were trying to help. It was the Dursley's fault, she knew, for making him so self-sufficient that he stopped depending on others even when he actually needed help. Sure, self-sufficient was good…at times. But when one was trying to get through a death of a loved one, then they needed to let others in to help.

Or maybe she had this all wrong. Maybe by trying to help, she was simply driving him away. Maybe he needed alone time?

That stupid voice! It was making her doubt and second-guess herself. It was annoying, to think one thing and then wonder if it was the voice that planted that suggestion in her head, and wonder if she should act on it or not. She felt vulnerable with that thing in her mind.

At least the Occlumency lessons with Harry had really started again. Harry was teaching her everything that he knew about Occlumency, even though he was still a beginner at it.

She didn't blame him for not wanting to take Occlumency lessons with Snape. She knew that she wouldn't want to take any with him if she could help it.

She could only hope that Snape didn't do anything bad to Harry.

* * *

"Enter," came the cold drawl from within the room. Harry entered Snape's office and looked disdainfully around. The jars of ingredients may look ominous, but Harry knew that they were mostly just for show—Snape would never display any important ingredients. 

"Professor," said Harry diplomatically. He waited, taking in more of his surroundings.

"You are here because the Headmaster wants me to teach you Occlumency. This may not be a regular, ordinary class, but I am still your teacher and as such you will always address me as 'sir' or 'Professor'," said Snape from behind his desk where he had been grading papers. Harry saw the paper on top had a large red D on it.

"Yes, sir," said Harry. Harry eyed the chair across from Snape's desk and decided that he would rather stand—the chair looked rather uncomfortable.

"Occlumency is—"

"Yes, yes, I know what Occlumency is," said Harry impatiently, ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be showing respect. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"_Sir,"_ Snape spat out.

"Sir, then," said Harry flippantly. "Anyways, I already know some of the basics of Occlumency, I just need practical experience as well as a teacher to guide me through the process."

"I see. Then we will begin right away," said Snape, standing and drawing his wand. Harry tensed and drew his also. "On the count of three I will invade your mind—do whatever you can to expel me from it. One—two—three—_Legilimens!_"

Harry, though not an advanced Occlumens, could feel when Snape entered his mind. The presence was searching around, and Harry was seeing flashes of memories go by—

"Stop!" yelled Harry as he saw an image of the graveyard. Waving his wand in a reflexive motion, he stupefied Snape.

The silence in the office was deafening as Harry came back to full awareness, on the ground and panting slightly. He had not been prepared for that. That was why he had wanted a teacher. He had wanted to prepare himself for things like that. But he hadn't wanted to go about it like that—he needed some warning beforehand!

Harry stood up stiffly, about to tell Snape off for doing something like that when he realized that Snape wasn't in sight. Harry paused, looked around quizzically, and then realized that Snape was unconscious on the floor.

Had he done that?

He must have. There was no one else to do it, unless Snape had stunned himself, which was very unlikely in this situation.

"_Ennervate,"_ Harry murmured uncomfortably as he pointed his wand at Snape. Snape stirred a moment before jumping up.

"When I said do whatever you can to expel me from your mind, I did not mean 'knock me out'!" snarled Snape, his black eyes flashing furiously.

"It was an accident—you in no way prepared me for that!" protested Harry.

"You said you already knew what Occlumency was."

"Yes, but I also said that I needed practical experience—there's a reason I need it! I've never really had something of that level happen to me before!" snapped Harry. Snape scowled.

"Clear your mind. _Legilimens!_"

More memories flashed through his head. This time Harry was moderately prepared for it—but it took a while to pull out of it. This time he didn't have a memory of the graveyard to make him curse Snape, so when Snape finally lifted the curse Harry found himself on the floor. His head was throbbing—he must have hit it on the stone.

"Pathetic, Potter, at least try to block your mind—"

"You aren't telling me how!" howled Harry. "How do you expect me to defend myself if you don't tell me how? And don't say 'clear you mind', that gives absolutely no description on what I should do. Clear my mind? Of what? Thoughts? Emotions? I hate to point this out to you, _sir_, but some people _do _have emotions that you can't just get rid of at the drop of a hat!" Harry ranted. Snape scowled.

"Clear your mind of all thought and emotion," he snapped. "Really, Potter, you told me that you had some experience."

"I do, but it's only in organizing my mind. I don't know how to create shields or anything around my mind, which is what I was hoping that you would teach me, not invade my mind and hope that I'll eventually learn how to block you out!"

"You will address me as 'sir' at all times!" snarled Snape.

"I'll call you 'sir' when you actually start teaching me something!" Harry said defiantly.

Snape looked furious.

* * *

"It is nearly time, Donna," the Dark Lord said as he sat regally on his throne. 

"Yes, my lord," Donna said respectfully, her head down. Internally, her mind was scrambling again—nearly time? What?

Oh. Yes. Now she remembered.

"You have everything set up for when the moment comes?"

"Yes, my lord. Everything is in place," said Donna.

"There will be no mistakes, Donna. We cannot afford them. Call Bellatrix in, I must discuss something with her."

"Yes, my lord," said Donna. Standing up, Donna slid out of the room and shut the door firmly behind her.

Wait a moment. Who was she supposed to be finding?

Donna shook off her confusion. She was supposed to be finding Bellatrix, of course. Giving her chin an arrogant tilt, Donna set off to find the insane woman. After wandering the corridors, Donna finally found Bellatrix in a large parlor.

"Bella, the Dark Lord wants you," said Donna. Bellatrix, who had been talking with Lucius Malfoy, jumped up immediately and abandoned poor Lucius in her enthusiasm to talk to her master.

* * *

"Bellatrix. My most loyal. How is everything going on your end?" asked the Dark Lord. 

"Very well, my lord. The prisoner has tried to escape several times, but Lanish has succeeded in keeping him imprisoned," said Bellatrix.

"Good. Very good, Bella," said the Dark Lord. Bella nearly swooned in happiness at the rare praise that she received. "You are dismissed."

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I've been super busy because school has started up and I've found barely any time to write this… 

Though I'm hoping that after this chapter I can really get things moving.

Some people have been asking about my update times. I have had requests to change it—instead of updating every two weeks, update slower with longer updates that don't have any filler stuff in it, and I've had people ask for quicker updates with shorter chapters. I hate to disappoint any of you, but I'm not changing my update time. I have updated this story every two weeks with 3-6,000 words every time for nearly two years now. I'm not going to change that. However, when the sequel comes out, I might change the update time for that story. It depends.

Also, I would love to hear everyone's opinions and guesses so far for my story. My current reviewers are wonderful—thank you all!—but it would be nice to hear from people about what they think about certain aspects… Who's the mysterious prisoner? Is Ice really dead? Will Snape be good or bad in my story? Am I going to follow canon to the point where Snape's loyalties are already decided? And what side is Donna really on? Is Donna the voice? Any other guesses you have will be greatly appreciated!

That being said, review please!


	44. Chapter 44

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 44**

* * *

Harry bolted upright in bed, his breath coming out harshly. A nightmare… about the graveyard. He had had these many times during the summer, though as the school year progressed, and Ice's training took up his time, the nightmares had slid away, along with the guilt of Cedric's death. However, with Snape bringing up those memories… 

Harry dropped his head in his hands and tried to calm his breathing. In and out… in and out… in and out…

Lifting his head, he stared blankly at the curtains surrounding his bed. He listened for a moment to Ron's soothing snores from the bed next to him before sliding out of bed—after shoving the curtains aside, of course. Standing up, he stretching for a moment, yawning lazily and padded over to the window. He stared out over the grounds.

They were bathed in moonlight. The Forbidden Forest looked surreal in the white light, and Hagrid's cabin was bathed in darkness, shrouded by shadows. He could see the trees in the Forbidden Forest swaying with an unseen wind…

Harry tore his eyes away from the peaceful scene and instead surveyed his dormitory. There were stray clothes all over, as well as random artifacts from each boy living there, casually put there with the intent to clean up later, only to never get to it. Ron and Dean's curtains weren't closed—Ron was splayed out on the bed, his mouth wide open as he snored. The blanket was slowly falling off the bed and onto the floor. Dean looked slightly more civilized—his mouth was actually closed.

Harry sighed slightly and headed down to the common room. He wasn't sleeping well ever since Ice died. Sure, the training sessions were done. He admitted that he was getting more hours of sleep, though they only served to make him more tired, as his body wasn't accustomed to getting the right amount of sleep each night.

Harry collapsed in an armchair in front of the dying embers of the fire. The common room was dimly light, the little amount of light casting silhouettes of the entire room around.

Harry stood up and began to pace around. He was beginning to feel like a caged animal—he needed to do something. Anything. He needed… he needed…

He needed Ice.

Harry tried to shake off that thought, but it wouldn't go away. He needed Ice. Harry stopped pacing around and closed his eyes wearily. He reached out to the link he and Ice shared and…

A small flicker of warmth was emanating from it, as well as the overall sense of freezing cold.

Harry's eyes snapped open. But… that would mean… that… Ice is… alive?

Harry didn't stop to consider it. He ran up to the dormitory and grabbed his invisibility cloak. Throwing it hastily around his shoulders, making sure his head was covered but not caring for his feet, Harry ran down the stairs and out of the common room, ignoring the Fat Lady's exclamations.

His footsteps echoed in the empty corridors, but Harry made no move to stifle the sound. His one goal—his mind was set on it—was to get down to the Chamber of Secrets.

Panting, Harry ran into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hissing at the sink, the entrance appeared and Harry wasted no time in jumping down it. The ride down seemed to take forever, and Harry was relieved when he was finally out of the pipe and running down to the next door.

Hissing another command, Harry found himself, finally, in the main Chamber. Harry's pace slowed almost to a stop. He slowly walked forward—slowly…

A white, serpentine body was laying before the statue.

_"ICE!"_

* * *

Hermione blinked groggily as she woke up. Shaking her head as to clear the fuzziness of sleep from it, she sat up and pulled aside her curtains so she could get a better view of the clock. In large, luminous numbers, it read 2:36. 

She blinked, and then sighed. Laying back down, she drew the curtains again and attempted to fall back asleep. The blissfulness darkness didn't come—and she gave it up.

Something was niggling in the back of her mind—a memory, something important…

Hermione sat up again, her eyes going wide and her breaths beginning to come in gasps. She had completely forgotten—the Transfiguration assignment! McGonagall would have her head!

Half delirious with lack of sleep, Hermione jumped out of bed. Throwing a robe around her shoulders, she hurried down to the common room after gathering up her books. Plopping down at an available table, Hermione opened her bag and rooted around in it for a moment. Oh no—she didn't have the book…

Hermione was nearly inconsolable now. She stood up again and abandoned her books at her table. She made her way out of the portrait hole and out into Hogwarts. She intended to… _borrow_ the book from the library. She would return it, honest! But before Madam Pince even noticed its disappearance.

Hermione, even being as smart as she was, could not help but have her judgment impaired when so late. She was half sleeping walking, and while walking the familiar course to the library, Hermione noticed something wrong immediately.

How her mind, set on the single goal to get to the library, registered the appearance of a mysterious door was an odd occurrence. Odder yet, that even while half asleep and set on getting to the library, Hermione veered off course in order to inspect this new door.

Hermione stared at the door. It took a few moments to completely register in her mind. The door was smooth, brown mahogany, throwing a sharp contrast to the gray of the stone walls around it. Hermione wondered why she had never noticed this door before.

There was no handle on it. Hermione blinked drowsily and pushed the door a little. It gave way and opened smoothly.

Hermione paused. In a trance-like state, she stepped forward into the room.

At once, fires lit up around the room. Not too harshly, though, but just enough to see.

And Hermione's eyes grew big. Her amazement was intense as she stared about the room.

It was a library. Huger than anything she had ever seen before, even the Hogwart's library.

"Wow," she murmured, walking along one shelf and running her fingers over some of the books. Each book had layers and layers of dust upon it—they looked like they had not been touched in centuries.

Hermione leaned closer and looked at some of the titles. She gasped at what she saw. Just looking, there were three copies of one book… where only four copies had ever been made! Those books would be priceless! There were other books like that… one could make a fortune off of it!

But… she did not want to sell these books. She wanted to read them. She wanted to devour every part of them. She wanted the books!

She resisted taking one off the shelf after looking at her watch. No, too late. She needed rest… she would come back to the room tomorrow. Yes, that would be what she did.

Hermione left the room.

* * *

"Ice… Ice…" Harry was near sobbing as he collapsed near the snake. Practically crawled over to the serpent, Harry stared at the body, not believing what he saw. 

"Ice?" Harry muttered. He prodded Ice, and Ice stirred a little.

_/Go away, foolish boy, I'm tired/ _hissed Ice, who lazily opened one eye then shut it again.

_/Ice! What… how…I thought you were dead! I couldn't get anything from the link! What happened?! How are you still alive?!/_

_/I'm tired! Leave me be!/ _Ice snapped.

_/Fine. But don't think that you'll be interrogated in the morning/_ said Harry. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have pushed the subject, but Ice looked utterly exhausted. Explanations could wait a day… he was just glad that his Ice was back…

Wait. _His_ Ice?

Harry brushed it off. Instead, he gently picked up Ice and carried him in his arms. He carefully swung the invisibility cloak around himself, making sure he didn't jostle Ice too much. Cradling Ice as one would a baby, Harry went up the main pipe and out into Myrtle's bathroom. Myrtle was blessedly absent, so Harry carried on until he came to the common room. Not caring what the Fat Lady would think, Harry gave her the password—which forced her to open up—and walked inside.

He nearly stopped dead at the sight of Hermione asleep in a chair. What was she doing up? She looked utterly exhausted. Harry was torn between looking after Ice or tending to Hermione. In the end, Harry chose to run Ice up to his dormitory, then wake Hermione up, then go back up to Ice.

After dropping Ice off on his bed—where Ice promptly curled up properly on his pillow—Harry softly walked over to where Hermione slept. He head was on a Transfiguration book, and Harry raised his eyebrow. Weird, they hadn't had Transfiguration homework…

"Hermione? Hermione, wake up," ordered Harry as he shook Hermione's shoulder lightly.

Hermione bolted upright, her eyes wide as she blinked up at Harry. "Huh?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes. Harry smiled. He didn't think he had ever seen Hermione so inarticulate…

"Hermione, shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, ushered her from the chair.

"But—I forgot to do the Transfiguration assignment—"

"Hermione, what Transfiguration assignment? McGonagall didn't assign us any homework last class," said Harry. "And even if she did, you probably would already have it done!"

"The Transfiguration assignment that is… that is…" Hermione blinked for a second before blushing. "Oh no. What was I thinking? There wasn't a Transfiguration assignment. And I went all the way to the library… wait… no, I didn't…"

Hermione's face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to remember.

"Hermione, you look tired. Why don't you just go to bed?" asked Harry, pushed her towards the girl's staircase.

"Yeah… Yes, that would be best," said Hermione, her eyes slightly glazed over. She walked the rest of the way to the staircase by herself, and went up them. Harry watched her with concerned eyes all the way. Was something wrong with Hermione, or was it just the lack of sleep?

Wordlessly, Harry packed up Hermione's things and put it under the table. Hermione would get it later.

* * *

_/It's morning, Ice. Now tell me what happened!/ _Harry demanded of his snake as the sun peaked over the horizon. Ice wearily opened his eyes, glanced at Harry, and then proceeded to start slithering under the covers. 

_/Don't hide from me!/ _Harry hissed, pulling the covers from his bed and leaving the mattress bare. Ice was completely exposed. After a slight pause, Ice attempted to hide under Harry's pillow. The pillow was thrown onto the pile of sheets.

_/Fine, fine, you persistent brat/_ mumbled Ice. Ice made no move to explain anything.

_/Well?/ _asked Harry

_/Well what?/ _questioned Ice, obviously stalling for time.

_/Tell me about how you're still alive—we all thought the lake had killed you!/_

_/I love your confidence in me/_

_/Don't avoid the subject, you arse!/_

_/Fine, fine, I'm getting to that. Don't rush me/ _Ice said. His eyes closed momentarily before he started on his tale…

_**-Flashback-**_

_CRACK._

_Ice only had one moment of panic before the ice was giving way underneath him. Using quick thinking, Ice conjured a bubblehead charm around his serpentine head before he hit the water. _

_Ice, being a snake, had no way to swim under water. He floated gently down to the bottom of the lake. Ice had no way to cast any warming charms on himself—one, because he didn't want to wear out his magic and drown himself, and two, because he wasn't sure if the magic would have some sort of negative effect in the freezing waters. _

_The waters were icy cold, alright! Ice couldn't suppress a shiver as the cold went through him, chilling every part of his body that was possible. Ice attempted to slither along the bottom of the lake, but going was slow—horribly slow. There were rocks, mud, and slime all along the bottom, each managing to trap him in their own way. Rocks would come lose and make him slip, mud would slowly cover and bury him, and slime made him slide all over the place, making navigation a mere fantasy. _

_Ice understood the necessity of getting out of the lake. Even at the freezing temperatures, the life underwater went on—Merpeople could easily come and attack such an easy prey as him. Grindylows might try to capture him, and other creatures might try to harm him. Not only that, but even as a snake Ice could feel the cold slowly, ever so slowly, killing him. _

_Ice tried not to waste time. He needed to find a pipeline. They would lead him back into the school, and back into safety. He had heard of pipelines coming into the lake all the time—the rumors fueled by Moaning Myrtle. As long as he could find one of those pipelines… as long as he could…_

_Ice searched for hours. The could not longer feel his body—a dangerous thing to happen, especially in this circumstance. His entire lower half could be cut off and he wouldn't know. It was dangerous down here. Ice kept moving forward. _

_Ice wasn't sure how long he searched for a damned pipeline. Hours... days... weeks... He got the sudden feeling that the pipelines were cunningly hidden by magic—so, just in case, no magical creature would succeed in getting in. After all, no one wanted various creatures to show up while they were on the toilet. _

_Ice nearly gave up a couple of times. He gave up on the pipeline idea, too. He hoped, instead, to find a way out of the lake by the surface. He could not swim up, but what if he found a way up—a slope that slowly carried him to the edge of the lake, perhaps?_

_But Ice was in the middle of the lake, and seemingly going around in circles. He found nothing. _

_Until, one day, he saw a hole in the ground. Nearly unnoticeable, Ice decided to chance it and go down it…_

_**-End of Flashback-**_

_/So you finally found a pipeline?/ _interrupted Harry.

_/You might call it that/ _said Ice, his eyes closing wearily again. _/Now shut up, you stupid boy, I'm tired!/ _Ice slithered to the floor and slid under the sheets and pillows still piled on the ground. Harry shrugged and lounged about on his bed. He had classes, but he felt no desire to go. He would hide out in the dormitory until someone came looking for him. He wanted to be as close to his familiar as he could get.

It never occurred to Harry to ask why Ice had come out in the Chamber of Secrets instead of a bathroom.

* * *

Hermione was tired and she couldn't figure out why. She had gotten to bed early last night, and she was pretty sure she didn't wake up in the middle of the night or anything. Nothing had disturbed her sleep, so why was she tired? 

She could practically feel something missing in her memory. A little snippet in time, something important yet… something that was hidden away from her…

It was bugging Hermione. She lived for answers, and one was being held away from her. What was missing? What could it be? Frustration was pounding through her veins as she tried to figure out what was happening…

Hermione sighed and dropped her head in her hands. She glanced around the classroom—no Harry. Where was he? Was he connected to the missing memory? Was her memory even missing? Should she ask Harry to use Legilimency on her and check? For that matter, did Harry even know Legilimency?

Hermione shook her head to clear it. Her thoughts were beginning to fuzz up.

_…They don't appreciate you… you could use your knowledge for… for… for… much… much… better… things…_

The voice was sounding broken up more so now then ever before. Was it because the voice was malfunctioning or was it something in her mind? What was going on?!

Hermione blinked back tears.

* * *

Ice curled up on Harry's stomach as Harry read from a book. They were still in the dormitory. Harry was surprised that no one had bothered to look for him yet—or if they had looked for him, they hadn't looked here. Were they thinking that he was hiding someplace, and they were avoided the obvious places because they thought he would be somewhere where no one would find him? Ridiculous. 

Ice suddenly lifted his head and stared at Harry. Harry, a little startled, stared back.

_/Please tell me you've been training/ _said Ice.

_/Technically… yes. I've been training my wandless magic. And my hand-to-hand combat. Swords and the other stuff you were teaching me? Not really/ _admitted Harry. He didn't bother lying—Ice would find out someway anyways, it was better just to get it all out.

Ice's eyes narrowed.

_/So you're telling me that during the days I've been gone, you haven't practiced a single thing I've taught you?/_

_/Well, it was kind of painful… seeing as I thought you dead, and everything… so I just wanted to stay away from things that reminded me of you…/_

Ice simply sighed and put his head back down on Harry's stomach. _/Stupid boy/_ Harry head Ice mutter. Harry couldn't resist a smile.

* * *

A/N: Yes, yes, super short chapter. I promise a longer one next time. I got caught up in real life things—my schedule is suddenly full, and I could barely fit typing this up into it. I almost skipped this update, actually, so you guys are lucky. 

My writer's block is coming back, slowly but surely. Hopefully it won't hit me as hard as last time, and I won't keep typing up filler chapters like I did.

Reviews might help!

That being said, PLEASE REVIEW!


	45. Chapter 45

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 45

* * *

**

"Very good!" Harry complimented as he strolled around the Room of Requirement. Neville beamed at the compliment—he had just successfully stunned Hermione.

Keeping up his pace as he weaved around a couple of members, stopping briefly to criticize the way they were holding their wands, Harry slowly made his way towards Ginny. She was partnered with her brother, who was knocked out cold at the moment.

"How's it going?" Harry asked as he stared down at the unconscious Ron.

"Pretty well so far. I've been able to stun him, but he hasn't gotten me yet," said Ginny cheerfully. Harry opened his mouth to say something—

When the doors to the Room burst opened and Dobby ran in. Harry only noticed him because of the large stack of hats on his head (Hermione had been knitting those for a while), which was taller than several of the students. Several people didn't notice him at once, including Ginny, who was busy waking Ron up.

"Harry Potter sir! She is coming!" he wailed as soon as he reached Harry. The rest of the students stopped what they were doing as they realized Dobby was there, and began to watch the exchange curiously.

"What, Dobby? Who's coming?" Harry asked urgently. Their club was technically illegal because of a degree Dolores Umbridge had passed about clubs.

"Oh, sir, Dobby is not supposed to say…!" Dobby moaned, twisting his ears mournfully around his fingers.

"Is it Professor Umbridge, Dobby?" asked Harry. Dobby gave a loud wail and went towards the wall. Harry grabbed him. "Okay, I order you not to hurt yourself. And if Umbridge asks if you told, tell her no! That's an order!" Harry said. He turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, everyone, you heard him—MOVE!"

This seemed to be what everyone was waiting for, as they all flooded to the door. Harry was one of the last people out, ushering Dobby out with him. Glancing back, Harry had one moment of dread—was he forgetting something in the room?—before he began to run towards Gryffindor tower.

There was a bathroom ahead of him—if he could just make it there, everything would be okay…

Harry saw the hex coming, and was able to jump out of the way. "What the hell?!" he demanded as the hex harmlessly hit the wall. Draco Malfoy came out from behind a statue, looking sour that his hex hadn't hit.

"PROFESSOR! I've got one!" he called in delight. Donna Umbridge glided out from around the corner. A smile curved her lips when she saw who it was.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Please report to the Headmaster's Office immediately," she said sweetly.

Harry took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. "What for?" he asked innocently.

"Excuse me?" Donna asked, pausing.

"What for? Unless you have solid proof of some misdeed I did, then you have no right to send me to the Headmaster's Office." Harry knew this wasn't true—a Professor could send him to the Headmaster's Office for the slightest thing, but he wasn't about to tell that to Umbridge.

"I believe you know what you did, Potter," said Umbridge softly, staring at him hard.

"Which would be…?" questioned Harry. Draco was standing back, looking even sourer at the prospect that Harry wouldn't be in trouble.

"You were participating in illegal activities," stated Umbridge.

"I was?" said Harry blankly.

"You were! Were you not just coming from an illegal club?" asked Umbridge, stepping slightly towards him, almost threateningly.

"Not that I know of," said Harry, stepping back a little. He wanted to be as far away from her as possible…

"Go to the Headmaster's Office anyway, and we will sort everything out there," said Umbridge. For a moment, her voice was sweet, deceptively sweet, and Harry turned around and began to head towards the Headmaster's Office.

His thought was that he might as well go there and lie there, too.

Though a little part of him knew that he wasn't going because his mind told him too—something else did.

* * *

As Harry stepped into the Headmaster's Office, he noticed several things. First, the Minister was there with Percy and a couple of Aurors. Second, his father and Sirius were there. And third, Dolores Umbridge was there. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded of Dolores Umbridge. "I thought you were in Azkaban!"

"Things change, Mr. Potter," she said, smiling sweetly.

At that moment, Donna Umbridge walked into the room. There was a moment of tense silence, and Harry noted that things did not seem well between the two sisters, as they were glaring rather heatedly at each other.

"Minister," started Donna quietly, "we have discovered an illegal club. Earlier today a worried student came forth and told me about the time, date, and place of when the next meeting would be. She also gave me several details—namely, how long it has been going on, who has been leading it, and several other little tidbits. Also, Pansy Parkinson kindly went into the Room to look for some extra evidence, and found a list of the member's names tacked to the wall."

"Excellent!" cried Fudge. Harry turned his gaze to the Minister and glowered at him. Fudge carefully avoided his gaze as he kept his eyes on Donna.

"Potter is the leader of this club," stated Donna emotionlessly.

"I am not," Harry interjected. His voice was also calm and emotionless.

"Mr. Potter, this piece of parchment clearly states that you are the leader of this illegal organization—"

"And can you prove the authenticity of the parchment? What if Pansy Parkinson simply made up the list while she had time?" questioned Harry.

"It has all of your signatures on it, Mr. Potter," said Donna quietly, staring intensely at Harry.

"Our signatures are easy to get though. All Pansy needed to do was steal an assignment with our name on it and copy the writing onto a separate piece of paper—it would be so simple to forge," Harry said, keeping eye contact with Donna.

She kept silent, and Harry suddenly felt an alien presence in his mind. It was not Legilimency, and it did not seek to look through his mind—

_Tell us how you lead the club, Harry. Tell us all about the spells you taught these students. Tell us about how you simply wanted to protect the students from harm, and that was why you lied to us. Tell us you want to take the entirety of the punishment, Harry…_

Harry could hear Ice swearing slightly underneath his robes. The next moment the voice had vanished from his head as he felt the Occlumency shields around his mind strengthen.

Well, Harry supposed that settled it. Donna was the voice.

"Mr. Potter?"

"What?" said Harry, snapping back to the present to see all eyes on him.

"I said that these signatures do not look fake. And there is also a very complex charm on this parchment to hex anyone who tells. The poor student who told us about the club is suffering greatly from the hex… I have not yet been able to find a cure for it," stated Donna.

This time Harry went silent.

"Well, Mr. Potter? Any smart comments this time?" asked Fudge snidely.

"_Excuse me?_ Did you just insult my son?" Harry nearly jumped—he had forgotten that his father was in the room. Currently, his father was glaring rather heatedly at Fudge.

"Well, Mr. Potter, you must admit, this all seems a little suspicious—" floundered Fudge.

"_Suspicious?_ Minister, are you insinuating that my son—my _fifteen-year-old_ son is acting suspicious? Minister, did you not give a speech just last week on the severe lack of good education for students? Then why are you saying now that a fifteen-year-old is smart when last week you were basically saying any student is stupid?"

Harry felt vaguely insulted that his father was saying that he was stupid, but Harry kept his mouth shut.

"Now, Mr. Potter, there is no need to get offended—" said Fudge, who was steadily backing up from the angry elder Potter.

"No need to get offended?! I think that there's damn well a reason to get offended if you think you can go around, contradicting yourself and blaming my son for things he didn't do, just to get him expelled!"

"Mr. Potter, I have no desire to have him expelled, really—"

"Well, that's good to know!" declared James, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Mr. Potter, you must realize that all the evidence is pointing against him—" started Donna.

"I don't care! If my son says he didn't do it, then that means he didn't do it!" said James, his stance saying that he wasn't going to give up.

"Mr. Potter," started Dolores in a sickly sweet voice, "I believe that we have a big misunderstanding here—"

"What are you even doing here?" demanded James. "Aren't you supposed to be rotting in Azkaban?"

"I was let out a few days ago," said Dolores softly, "for good behavior and a promise to serve the Ministry for twenty more years…"

"You bribed the Minister then," snapped James. "I should have known a toad like you wouldn't have stayed locked up for long, no matter how much you need to be. You're such an evil, vile woman. I don't know what Fudge even sees in you."

"What?!" cried Dolores and Fudge at the same time. They both looked completely scandalized.

"Mr. Potter, please refrain from such accusations at this time," stated one of the Aurors next to Fudge.

"Mr. Potter, you cannot deny the evidence that is against your son…" said Donna, trying to get the meeting back on track.

"What evidence? A piece of paper that has a bunch of names on it?" asked Harry.

"And an advanced charm," added Donna.

"How advanced? If it's over N.E.W.T. level, then it couldn't have been done by anyone students, right?" asked Harry. Donna frowned.

"Well, I believe that it is a slightly complex charm, and it isn't taught even in school…" she murmured.

"Well then, case closed! Someone tried to set us up!" declared Harry.

"You are not getting off that easy, Mr. Potter," said Dolores, smiling slightly.

"Oh?" inquired Harry, staring hard at Dolores.

"Mr. Potter, you have proved quite a few times you are untrustworthy. How can we possibly trust what you are saying?" she said.

"How has he proved that he is untrustworthy?" snarled James, glaring at Dolores.

"Mr. Potter, there is no direct evidence stating that the Dark Lord is, in fact, alive…"

"WHAT?!" yelped James, staring at Dolores like she had grown another head. "What are you spouting now? Of course he's alive, stupid! Why don't you listen to reason instead of the crap that's coming out of Fudge's arse?!"

"MR. POTTER, PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF!" shouted an Auror.

"CONTROL MYSELF?! WHY DON'T YOU TELL THIS VILE WOMAN TO CONTROL HERSELF!" yelled James.

Harry stared at the door and contemplating leaving. He doubted they would even notice.

"Mr. Potter, please control yourself!"

"I'll say whatever I want!"

"Mr. Potter, please don't—"

_"That is enough!"_ suddenly everyone was quiet as Dumbledore finally stood, looking very angry. Fudge began to cower, Dolores shuddered and slid behind Fudge, the Aurors avoided looking at Dumbledore, James and Sirius stared resolutely at the wall, Donna shivered, and Harry… was Harry. He was still looking at the door.

"Enough! Enough arguing—this is not a debate! James, enough insulting the Minister! Cornelius, I must ask that you and your Aurors leave Hogwarts. You have caused enough chaos for one night," said Dumbledore calmly.

Fudge gave a loud snort and said, "Fine then! But I will be back!" with that he turn, about to go in the fireplace, when he seemed to think of something and turned back. "Oh, and I've decided to reinstate Dolores as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Donna, you can come back to the Ministry with me. We have a lot of paperwork to fill out…"

"No," stated Dumbledore.

"What?" snapped Fudge.

"I said no, Cornelius. Donna is a perfectly fine and capable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and there is no need to switch them. Furthermore, I will not allow Dolores to teach here ever again, not after the way she blatantly abused my students. And isn't Dolores supposed to be doing Ministry work, not Professor work?"

Fudge floundered for a moment, before scowled and declaring loudly, "Fine then! Dolores, you come with me!"

Fudge threw some floo powder in the fireplace and shouted some location before disappearing a burst of green flames, and not long after the rest of his entourage followed. The silence in the room was deafening after they had left.

"Well, Donna, I do believe that you have work to do," said Dumbledore.

"Yes," said Donna slowly, and she quietly left the room, leaving Harry, Sirius, James, and Dumbledore all alone.

After Donna had left, Dumbledore turned towards Harry and smiled slightly. "Now, Harry, tell me… whatever inspired you to lie to the Minister?"

"What makes you think I was lying?" asked Harry.

"My dear boy, I was not born yesterday," said Dumbledore, ignoring Sirius snort of "you got that right!"

"I don't know. I guess I just thought that it would be best if I denied everything…" said Harry.

"I normally do not encourage lying, but I think I will overlook it this one time," said Dumbledore. Harry nodded, and, sensing the finality in Dumbledore's tone, he left.

* * *

Harry lounged on his bed, ignoring Ice's complaints about his laziness. 

_/You stupid boy, you should be training and trying to make up all the things you missed while I was gone. But are you? No, you have to be lying around, doing absolutely nothing! Are you even listening to me?/_

_/I'm listening, I'm listening/_

_/Then repeat what I just said/_

_/Uh… you rambled about training… and did you say something about making out? No wait, maybe it was making up…/_

_/Stupid boy/_

_/Stupid snake/_

_/Great comeback, you stupid boy/_

_/Like you have wonderful comebacks! All you can call me is a stupid boy/_

_/That's because it's a known fact/_

_/You don't hear anyone else calling me that/_

_/That's only because they're as stupid as you. Now, me, on the other hand… I am not stupid, so I realize how stupid you are. Therefore, I have a right to call you stupid/_

It took a moment to Harry to fully process this statement.

_/You used a lot of stupids/_

_/Not really. You simply had a hard time processing it, because the numerous statements of "stupid" in the sentence made you confused. Another reason why you are stupid/_

Harry decided the best course of action in response to this statement was to knock Ice off the bed. He did so, and Ice swore quite colorfully. Harry couldn't help but be impressed by the snake's vocabulary.

* * *

"I don't need Occlumency lessons anymore, sir," Harry stated as soon as he entered Snape's office. 

"What?" Snape snapped.

"Yeah—I've decided to learn on my own. I think that it would be more productive that way," said Harry carefully.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter. You can't do anything on your own without messing up," said Snape.

"Okay then," said Harry blankly. "Now, if you'd just excuse me—"

"Legilimens!"

Harry could feel more than hear the hiss that Ice gave underneath his robes. He could feel Ice's shields bucking underneath the pressure of Snape's Legilimency.

"Stop!" yelled Harry, taking out his wand and pointing it at Snape. Seeing that Snape had no intention of stopping what he was doing, Harry yelled, "Protego!"

And suddenly Harry was inside Snape's mind. Memory after memory shot by of Snape—Snape with his parents—Snape and…

"Enough!" shouted Snape. Harry felt himself being propelled from Snape's mind, and Harry slammed against the shelf behind him. Thankfully, no jars broke on him.

"Ouch," it hurt all the same, though.

"Where did you get shields like that, Potter?" demanded Snape as he straightened up, seemingly uncaring that Harry had just broken into his mind. Harry could tell otherwise, though—his nostrils were flaring and he was slightly pale.

"None of your business," said Harry quietly. He brushed a hand on his arm, where Ice was partly draped.

"What is under your robes, Potter?" Snape demanded hotly, stalking towards him.

"What?" stammered Harry, starting to back up as Snape swooped down upon him.

"Under your robes, Potter! What is under your robes?"

"My familiar!" Harry burst out.

"Let me see," demanded Snape. Harry reluctantly gave a hiss, and Ice slid out from underneath his robes and plopped gently on the floor.

"His name is Ice," said Harry awkwardly after a few moments of silence.

"Potter, you do realize that snakes are not allowed pets for Hogwarts?" asked Snape, but he didn't seem very interested in the answer.

"Ice is my familiar, so any rules regarding pets are cancelled out," explained Harry.

"What breed is he?" asked Snape. Snape poked Ice cautiously, and Ice took that opportunity to shove his head at Snape's hand. Obviously, Ice wanted to be stroked. Harry felt slightly insulted. Ice never wanted Harry to stroke him…

Snape began to scratch Ice's head slightly. "I don't know what breed he is. Just that he's magical," said Harry.

"You have a very rare snake. I have never seen a snake like this…" muttered Snape. Ignoring Ice's hiss, Snape opened Ice's mouth and looked inside. "And these fangs… he seems to be poisonous…"

"Ice doesn't appreciate you doing that," Harry supplied helpfully. Snape ignored him as he poked and prodded Ice a little more.

"Potter, where did you find this snake?" asked Snape.

"At a pet store," said Harry.

A few more moments of silence passed. It seemed that Snape had almost completely forgotten about him, more interested in Ice than he was in Harry. That suited Harry perfectly as he stood back and watched the interaction between his least favorite teacher and Ice.

* * *

A/N: Super short chapter. I apologize, but the last couple of weeks were busy. I promise you a longer chapter next update. 

My writer's block is back, but I hope to finish this story soon anyway. Hopefully.

EDIT: Some of my wonderful reviewers pointed out that I had accidentally put Harry's age as sixteen instead of fifteen. My mistake... sorry about that!

REVIEW!


	46. Chapter 46

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 46

* * *

**

_/But Ice, I don't want to! You can train me in Occlumency as well as Legilimency much better than he could ever—/_

_/It doesn't matter! He is a very skilled Occlumens and Legilimens and lessons with him could benefit you greatly!/ _

_/Ice. Listen to reason. We both know that he hates me. I hate him. All he does is attack my mind. Why would you want him to teach me stuff that you could be teaching me? You're a much better teacher than he will ever be/_

_/Master, you listen to reason! He might be able to teach you something!/_

_/You don't understand—I hate him! He hates me! All he does is attack my mind!/_

_/Technically, the more your mind is attacked, the stronger your shields become/_

_/He completely messes up the order my mind is in!/_

_/And you become better and better at organizing it in the process, right?/_

_/And I don't like him searching through my memories, thank you very much!/_

_/And I doubt that you would like it if Voldemort went through your mind. Master, please, listen to me—this does have its benefits. All you're thinking about is the negatives of the lessons/_

_/That's because the negatives far outweigh the positives!/_

_/Only because you're focusing on the negatives—if you'd actually think about the positives, then you would realize that there are more of them then you think!/_

_/Okay then. Let's try this: I refuse. I completely refuse to take any part in this! I don't know why you like that bat, but I don't. And I'm not going to let him into my mind just so Voldemort stays out, when you could teach me/_

_/Master, not everyone entering your mind will be someone you like!/_

_/At least let me wait until someone forcibly breaks into it before I start thinking about that!/_

_/Master, are you forgetting the times when Voldemort did break through? The vision of that old man, and the vision of the Weasley boy's father?/_

_/That doesn't matter, Ice! Until he makes a direct assault on me, I don't want to focus on enemies breaking into my mind!/_

_/Then you're losing the entire point of Occlumency! The point is to not have enemies breaking into your mind, and if you want to only concentrate on someone like me breaking in the entire time you're being taught then you're going to be completely unprepared when an enemy attack comes! Furthermore, not every vision will be a direct assault on you! What if Voldemort lures you out of Hogwarts with a false vision just to capture you? Is that a direct assault? Or maybe he plants a false vision of someone else, like your father, getting captured, "accidentally" tells you where he is, and then you go running off to "save" him? And don't argue with that—you know that you would run off to save him. No excuses, boy, you have a hero-complex/_

_/I—I don't have a hero-complex!/_

_/Boy, you just might want to give up while you still have some pride left/_

_/Fine. I'll take the lessons. But I'm not going to be happy about it/_

_/And if you aren't willing to learn, then the teacher cannot teach. Boy, at least try to make an effort, understand? Or else I'll bite you/_

_/Fine, fine, I'll try my hardest/_

_/I'm serious—I will bite you if you aren't taking these classes as seriously as your should, or if you stupidly decide not to follow Snape's directions. If Snape tells you an exercise you need to do, then you should do it! Don't laze around, thinking that it isn't important, because it is! And keep on organizing your mind!/_

_/I know, I know, you don't have to keep on lecturing me…/_

_/If I don't lecture you, you don't ever seem to get the point, you impudent brat—DON'T YOU DARE PUSH ME OFF THIS BED, YOU STUPID—/

* * *

_

"I've decided to take lessons with you," said Harry, sulking slightly as he thought back on his argument with Ice. Stupid snake, always winning fights…

"Sit down. First, you will _always _address me as 'Professor' or 'sir'. That includes now, Potter," said Snape, looking imperiously down his hooked nose at Harry.

"Yes. Sir," Harry said, adding on the sir at the last moment. Snape glared for a moment before continuing.

"Now, I expect you to listen to what I say, regardless of if you can comprehend it or not—which I doubt you will," Snape added on that last part as an afterthought, "and pay attention, Potter. If you mess up, it's your fault, not mine."

"Okay then, _sir. _Are you going to teach me how to block my mind or not? And no, don't give me any of that 'clear your mind' stuff. Explain to me how to do it, please."

"When clearing the mind, the most used technique is to focus on a pleasant feeling. The place you feel safest at, perhaps. Then focus on the feeling you get from that place, and let everything out of your mind," said Snape briskly.

"Okay. So, basically, focus on a good feeling," Harry stated more than asked.

"Yes," confirmed Snape.

"Okay," said Harry as he closed his eyes and thought hard about Potter Manor, and the feeling that he got from it.

"Ready? One, two, three—_Legilimens!_"

Memories started to fly past, but this time they seemed to be fuzzy as they flew by, almost as if the picture was being blurred. He tried to throw Snape out of his mind, but he couldn't quite push his presence out.

The next thing Harry knew, he was laying on the floor of Snape's office, panting hard. Harry almost wished that Ice had kept his shields around his mind for this lesson, but Ice had insisted that Harry learn on his own. He also declined going with Harry to Snape's office. Harry was almost glad—he didn't want Snape and Ice together again anytime soon.

"Well, Potter, there was actually effort in that attempt," sneered Snape as he dusted off his robes imperiously. "But you need to get better in pushing out the attacker before they start going through your memories. Let's try this again—one, two, three, _Legilimens!_"

Memories flew past again—Ron's father getting attacked—Harry copying Hermione's homework—Ron and him playing chess, while he lost spectacularly—Ice hissing out, _/Stupid boy!/_—Lily smiling at him as she pointed out something he did wrong on his homework—

"Enough!" Harry shouted as he finally pushed Snape from his mind. Snape stumbled slightly, but righted himself quickly enough.

"That was worse than last time, Potter," he said.

"Well, if you told me what I was doing wrong instead of telling me how bad I am, then maybe I would get somewhere!" Harry snapped in frustration.

"Potter, Occlumency is not just explained by some book or by some class—Occlumency takes time to learn, which we obviously don't have! You will need to have your own technique in Occlumency, and if I told you how I conduct myself when fending off an attack, it would ruin the entire point of you learning this—you would try to copy how I do it, and in the end it wouldn't work for you!" snarled Snape, his eyes glinting darkly.

"At least explain to me how to attempt this, to make it easier on me!" Harry said.

"I would be explaining how I do it, and it would ruin the point, Potter!"

"Then how did you learn?" demanded Harry.

"Excuse me?" Snape looked a little taken aback by this abrupt turn in the conversation—he had been expecting more fighting, not a sudden question like this.

"How did you learn? If no one really taught you, how did you manage it?" asked Harry, leaning forward (when did he sit in the chair?) and looking at Snape intently.

"My mother was a skilled Occlumens," said Snape grudgingly, "and she taught me a few tricks. She taught me how to clear my mind, and she taught me Legilimency. However, she used the same method to teach me Occlumency as I am using with you."

"So, basically, you've known Occlumency your entire life?" said Harry, a little disbelief flooding into his voice.

"Yes," answered Snape.

Harry didn't say anything to this. How would Snape be able to truly teach him if Occlumency had practically become a part of his life. For Snape, it was a natural reaction to use Occlumency and Legilimency—maybe that was why it was so hard to learn from him.

"So… how did your mother teach you how to clear your mind?" asked Harry.

"None of your business," snapped Snape. "Enough questions for tonight—you are dismissed."

* * *

"I've told you a thousand times, James, I'm completely fine!" protested Lily as James ran around the Marauder's Quarters, trying to make her more comfortable. "I barely even show—James, you don't need to put more pillows around me, I'm already swimming in them—!"

"Lily, you're a pregnant woman, you shouldn't be straining yourself by teaching classes and stuff," said James as he fluffed the pillow nearest Lily.

"I've only been pregnant for a couple of months—"

"And you're already _very _larger than a woman should be in this stage, Lily!" said James sternly. He propped her feet up on a footstool, ignoring her protests.

"I'm fine! Everything is normal! I don't really show—" she tried again. James wouldn't hear of it, glaring at her slightly.

"What do you mean, you don't show? You're huge! Now, tomorrow you'll be taking a day off. I'll fill in for you during your class," said James. "Just tell me what I need to teach the kids, and everything will be fine…"

"What?! You have to be joking—I would never leave you alone in a classroom full of children!"

"Lily. I'm so insulted," said James, putting his hand dramatically over his heart, pretending to be wounded as he stumbled back and fell into a chair. "Did you hear that, Padfoot? My own wife doesn't think I'm responsible enough to take care of a couple of children."

"Lily! How could you?" asked Sirius, looking scandalized. Remus, sitting in the corner by the monitors, rolled his eyes in exasperation. Harry chose that moment to entire the room, barely looking around as he trudged over to a cough, plopped down, and put a pillow over his head.

The rest blinked at him as Harry slowly spread out on the couch, and looked like he was taking a nap. Sirius and James exchanged looks, wondering if they should draw on Harry's face, while Lily simply looked concerned.

"Harry? Is something wrong?" she asked. She began to get up, but James pushed her back down on the couch with a warning look.

A mumbled reply was muffled further by the pillow as Harry shifted a little.

"Could you repeat that?" asked Sirius. "Didn't quite hear."

More mumbles.

"It kind of sounds like he has a hangover," noted James.

"It looks like our little boy is growing up…" sighed Sirius.

"What?! Harry, you didn't drink anything, did you?" exclaimed Lily.

Remus just studied the monitors, looking bored with the situation.

Harry lifted the pillow from his face and glared at them, his emerald eyes looking dull in the light and his hair looked extra messy. James could just feel Lily beside him, itching to try and brush it.

"Will you guys shut up? I'm tired," snapped Harry before putting the pillow back over his head. James paused for a moment before turned the couch into a large bucket of ice water.

While Harry was swearing rather colorfully, James remarked to Sirius, "I'm so glad that I learned the objects-to-water transfiguration! And I thought that I would never need it!" James shook his head as his younger self's stupidity while Harry stepped out of the tub, sopping wet and looking foul tempered.

"What the hell was that for?" Harry demanded as he took his wand out of his pocket and cast a drying charm over himself.

"For coming in here and acting like a brat," said James evenly. "Now, are you ready to be civil enough to tell us what's wrong, or are you going to sulk like a little kid?"

Harry glared at James for a couple of moments, before answering, "I just came back from Occlumency lessons with Snape, and it feels like my head had been split open. And my scar is hurting, so I'm not exactly in a good mood," his last sentence was delivered with a large dose of sarcasm.

"Well, Harry, these Occlumency lessons are necessary ever since Ice—" Lily abruptly cut herself off, obviously not wanting to get into the subject of Ice. It took Harry a couple of moments to seemingly comprehend this statement, but when he did he slapped his hand to his forehead and sighed.

"I must've forgot to tell you, mum, but… Ice is alive," said Harry.

"What?" James asked, blinking stupidly.

"Harry, I know that Ice's lose was hard for you, but don't go trying to deny—" began Lily, but Harry swiftly cut in.

"I'm not denying anything—it turns out that Ice was in the lake the entire time, using his amazing Ice-like powers to survive where other snakes would die," snorted Harry. "He came back to me quite a while ago… I thought I told you…"

"No, you hadn't told us," said Lily, her voice going several degrees lower.

Harry, foreseeing an argument, tried to stall it by saying, "Listen, I really though I had told you. It must have slipped my mind—you know, stress from O.W.L.s and stuff, and everything…"

"Harry. How in the world did you forget—even with all of your studies?! Ice is always around you—there isn't really anyway for you to forget about him!" snapped Lily, looking peeved that Harry didn't tell her straight away about Ice coming back.

"Well, after a while I just kind of got used to having Ice around, and I didn't even realize that I hadn't yet told you. I'm sorry…" Harry apologized quickly. It didn't seem to be helping his mother's temper much, as she was slowly growing red in the face.

However, the next thing Harry knew, Lily was beginning to sob. "B-but how could you… how could you forget about… about… about me?"

"What?" Harry was stunned—he couldn't seem to form a coherent response other than 'what?'.

"I c-can't b-believe you… forgetting about… about your own mother!" wailed Lily. She grabbed a nearby pillow and put it over her eyes as she began to sob in earnest. James, Sirius, and Remus all seemed to have frozen.

There was silence all around Marauder's Quarters, until Sirius muttered, "I think someone is getting mood swings…"

And then Lily was back to anger. "Mood swings?! Mood swings?! What, do you need to excuse my behavior just because I'm pregnant?! What if I wanted to act like this, huh?" she asked nastily, glaring at Sirius.

Sirius turned to James and whispered, "I liked it better when she was crying."

* * *

"Ron, will you hand me my quill? Thank you,"

Ron restrained a glower as he handed over the quill to Hermione. She set about scribbling on her parchment—probably homework, Ron mentally snorted. What was with that girl and homework?

He found himself disliking Hermione immensely these past few days. She was such an immature snob—always assuming that she knew more than him. Well, he would show her someday—he knew lots more than she ever would! She barely knew anything about Pureblood traditions, for example. Well, okay, he didn't either—he never bothered to learn. But still!

He hated her. He hated the way she looked—the way her hair always seemed to be frizzy, and seemed to frizz up more when she was mad. He hated the way she would chew on her quill tip when she couldn't figure something out. He hated how she always tucked her hair behind her ear, when she knew full well that it would never stay there.

He couldn't help but hate everything about her. From her head to her toes.

Why did she have to always have the answers, anyway? Sure, she spent tons of time in the library. Big deal. Plenty of Ravenclaws do that, and they aren't as smart as her. Well, maybe some of them are almost at her level, but only a couple! Hermione is the smartest girl in their year, and Ron wished he knew how she does it.

Does she memorize things? Ron supposed that she did, as she could always give a textbook answer when called on by the teacher. But how in the world does she memorize the textbook? Where does she get the time? She's taking way more classes than he was, and he could barely keep up, while she was doing laps around them all.

It frustrated Ron to no end. It seemed everyone around him was better than him in some way. Harry was better in everyway, now that Ron really thought about it. Harry had two great parents, and a few surrogate Uncles thrown in the mix. He had a familiar, Ice, who was awesome looking. He had good marks, which has risen exceptionally this past year, and he seemed to have matured out in the body department—he had shed his "short" look and had actually grown.

Ron supposed that was because his parents treated him pretty well. Sure, they had their little spats, but don't all families? Ron figured so—his family, after all, fought all the time. It was disgusting, really, how much they fought. His mother was always yelling at Fred and George, or Percy was yelling at them…

Hm. All the fights seemed to be centered on Fred and George. How strange. Ron had never noticed that before.

Ron also was beginning to harbor a hate for his family, too. He couldn't help but be bitter with his mother. She obviously favored Percy and Ginny over him and the others. It was always them first, Percy because he was so successful and Ginny because she was Molly's daughter.

Ron felt a sort of vindictive satisfaction at knowing that Percy wasn't speaking to his mother at the moment.

And his father—Ron felt contempt for his father. He never moved up in the Ministry—he had no ambition whatsoever! So Ron's family wasted away while his father played with Muggle artifacts at work and was scorned at by the higher-ups.

Then there was Bill. Bill was almost okay, really. Of course, Bill was also a brat for never coming to visit them. Granted, he was in Egypt. But really! And Bill knew that they were in some serious money trouble—why didn't he ever send over money or some Egyptian artifact that they could sell? It would help more than Bill coming home with another piercing.

Charlie. Charlie was cool to some extent—truthfully, Ron didn't really know Charlie. He always seemed to be gone, or be doing something… Ron withheld opinion on him, simply because most of his judgments wouldn't be based on facts that he had gathered by talking to him, or watching him interact with others.

Percy. Here Ron began to really hate! Percy was the epitome of the kind of thing Ron disliked. Perfect Prefect Percy. Percy had a snobby attitude, simply because he was "successful" in his career at Hogwarts, and he never broke any rule and never got in trouble. Not only that, but Percy was full of himself because he had a decent job—much better than his father's—even though Percy couldn't tell that Fudge was just using him.

Fred and George. The troublemakers who took all the attention away from him. Ron felt jealously stirring in him. He sorely wished that he was them—that he was cunning enough to get away with all the pranks they did. He wished that he was creative and smart enough to come up with half the pranks. Ron couldn't seem to look them in the eye anymore, simply because Ron knew that they would see the overwhelming envy in his eyes.

And Ginny. Ginny was taking all of Harry's attention away from him. Who did she think she was, dating him?! Ron wanted to be Harry's best friend, the only Weasley that Harry could really trust, but no… Ginny had to come along and ruin everything! Ron hoped that someday Harry would see the kind of horror Ginny really was and would come back to him, begging for friendship again. Ron wanted Harry's friendship back.

Harry. Ron hated him, but yet… Ron couldn't forget the boy that he had befriended on the Hogwart's Express their first year. Harry was smart, handsome, popular, and everything that everyone wanted to be… not only that, but Harry was nice. He was perfection. Ron couldn't help but be jealous—really, who wasn't? But Ron hated him. Yet he wanted to still be friends.

Ron began to feel dizzy from all the thinking, and began to focus again on Hermione as she began to bite her quill tip.

* * *

Remus sighed and watched as Lily began to have some serious mood swings after Harry had revealed Ice. Remus had almost suspected something like this would happen, that Ice hadn't really died but had played a clever trick on them. It was more of a thought that every time it occurred, he had brushed it away without a second's consideration, but was still there, lurking at the back of his mind.

Lurking at the back of his mind. Speaking of that, the full moon was next week. Remus was almost looking forward to it, as James and Sirius were there with him. They were planning on going out to explore the forest. Lily, every time she heard about their adventures, would shake her head but smile a little. Remus was glad that Lily accepted that they would do this.

At first, Remus almost thought that Lily would freak out about them becoming animagi and forbid James from ever going with him again. Lily didn't—Remus remembered the time when James had finally told her everything about his "furry little problem" and about their animagi forms. Lily had gone into a slight shock, before asking why she hadn't been included.

The Lily of today was slightly different—death seemed to have changed her a little, as she wasn't as accepted and as daring as she was back then. However, Lily was still as caring as ever.

Or maybe the change was because she was a mother. Remus wasn't sure. He didn't sense too much change in James, though James seemed to act more immature in order to make up for all the pranking time lost during his brief death.

James always did want to prank as much as often—still does, in fact. He plays a prank at least once a week, even if it was something small—like turning Lily's left shoe into a right one, so she had two right shoes. Lily was super confused about that, and never suspected that James had done anything.

Remus smiled fondly. His friends were so much fun…

* * *

A/N: Okay, Ron's thoughts were slightly contradictory on purpose.

And I'm SO sorry about not providing you with a long chapter—I'll try harder next time, really…

This chapter was not revised or edited or looked over before I posted it. I'm sorry for any mistakes.


	47. Chapter 47

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 47

* * *

**

"I can't believe Sirius did this," moaned Harry as he sat miserably on a mop bucket. James was sitting haphazardly on a box of cleaning supplies while, because of the limited leg room, his legs were positioned at awkward angles. Lily was sitting on the only bare patch of floor, resting her head against a dirty-looking mop.

"I'm going to kill that man when we get out of here. Hell, when we do get out of here, he probably won't even be a man after I'm through with him…" muttered Lily murderously.

Earlier that day, Harry had received a note from Sirius telling him to meet in front of the broom closet located on the second floor. Harry shrugged, wondering what Sirius was doing, but eventually shrugged it off and went to the designated meeting place.

However, when he got to said meeting place, Sirius was nowhere in sight. Instead, his mother was standing there, looking slightly confused as she checked and re-checked a small slip of paper.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry, slightly surprised at seeing her. Had Sirius called them both down here? Then why didn't he just ask them to talk in private when they were in the Marauder's Quarters? Warning bells were beginning to go off in his mind, but Harry shook them off as he waited for his mother's response.

"Sirius called me down here. I assume that he asked you to come here too?" she asked as she grabbed the slip of parchment that Harry took out of his bag (after a lot of searching through meaningless items that hadn't been cleaned out in several months). "Yes—look, he even used the same piece of parchment…" she muttered as she held the two slips together, showing how they fit perfectly.

"Why did he call us here…?" wondered Harry as he looked around. No Sirius so far.

"I have no clue—when I asked him about it at lunch, he wouldn't say," said Lily. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "I hope he gets here soon—I have a lot of papers that I need graded, and he's keeping me from getting that done. I don't suppose that you would be willing to help me go through some hapless first year's paper?"

"Not at all," said Harry, smiling slightly. His mother was still the same…

"What are you two doing here?" Harry whipped around, and his surprise doubled at seeing his father standing there, holding another piece of parchment, similar to theirs.

"Don't tell me that you got called down here by Sirius too…" said Lily, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Yeah, I did," said James as he reached back in an almost reflexive action and messed up his hair. Lily wrinkled her nose and glared at James, who hadn't even yet noticed that he had done it.

Lily gave a small cough and continued to glare at James, who was staring, glassy-eyed, out the window nearest to them. James didn't even seem to have heard her cough, or else he was just ignoring her, for he didn't respond to it. After Lily coughed again, this time louder, Harry figured that he was just ignoring her.

"James!" snapped Lily, her cheeks beginning to go red as she realized what he was doing. James faked surprise as he faced Lily again.

"Lily!" he cried, "marvelous! I didn't know I would meet you here—it's simply a pleasure to be in such refined and intelligent company! Why, I would never choose differently, for this is simply too rewarding for a simple fellow like myself—"

"James. Shut up," growled Lily, trying to look stern, but appearing slightly amused anyway. Harry tried to disappear in the shadows as his parents started up a light banter that sounded a lot like flirting. Ew.

"Ah! There are my favorite people!" came the joyous-sounding voice of Sirius as he practically bounced down the corridor to meet them.

"Sirius! What is the meaning of this message, and why were we all called down here?" asked Lily as she brandished the parchment at Sirius.

"Because, I have something to show you!" stated Sirius, beaming with pride. "It's just in this closet here," he said, opening it up with a flourish and beginning to push them to go and look inside.

"But—Sirius, there isn't anything in here…" murmured Lily as she looked around the regular broom closet.

"Exactly—_expelliarmus!_" he shouted, and their wands flew into Sirius' hands. There was a small pause, where they all stood stunned, before Sirius pushed Harry rather hard into the closet, taking Lily and James with him.

The door clicked shut as soon as the three were stuffed in there, and Harry heard the lock click into place. There was another stunned pause as Sirius said, "And there you go! I'll come back in a couple of hours to let you out. I just thought you needed some quality bonding time! Have fun!"

"SIRIUS! YOU LET US OUT OF HERE!" roared James as began to pound on the door.

"Oh, and did I mention that I added on an unbreakable charm to the door, and I added a silencing charm around the closet? No one will know that you're there!" cried Sirius happily.

"SIRIUS!"

They heard Sirius' footsteps fading away, while they stood, stunned, staring at each other. "I can't believe he did that," said Lily faintly. She sat down, looking flustered. "I really can't believe that he did that!"

"Neither can I," agreed James.

And this is where they are now, barely talking, waiting for Sirius to release them from the prison. So far they had been in the closet for two hours, and all three of them had some pretty painful cramps.

"So. How are you two?" asked Harry uncomfortably as he shifted a little on his bucket.

"Very well for being stuck in a broom closet, thank you," said Lily sarcastically. Harry sighed and gave up talking, deciding that it would be much more productive if he stared at the spider making the web in the corner of the closet.

"Lily, now, don't snap at him," said James. "It isn't fair that you're taking out your anger on him when you should save it all for Sirius when we get out of here."

"Fine," mumbled Lily, glaring childishly at the wall. James stared at her for a moment and shook his head, almost sadly, as if disappointed in the way she was acting. Lily didn't even notice, so engrossed was she in staring mutinously at the wall.

"Well," said Harry slightly uncomfortably, "how have you been doing, dad?"

"I've been good," said James brightly, a little too brightly for their situation. "Remus and I were just planning a new prank to play on Professor McGonagall—we think it's time to see her without the bun in her hair, so we've decided to throw a spell at her during lunch next week to make it come completely undone."

Harry gave his father a wane smile. He was unable to conjure up the appropriate enthusiasm as he father happily rambled on about the prank, about how it was going to be executed (they, apparently, had been planning on using Sirius as a distraction, but James was now determined that they leave Sirius out of this one because of the prank Sirius had just played on him), and about the spells they were going to have to use (which included one to make her bun come undone and one to actually keep the hair in place, because they didn't want her to redo it right away).

"And we think she might have a couple of enchantments on it to keep it in place," said James, "because even at night, when she's in her nightclothes and everything, she still has her bun in place."

Harry pondered this, and realized that it was true. He _had _never seen her without the bun in her hair, even late at night when she had been woken up due to his various misdeeds…

"Anything I can do to help?" asked Harry curiously.

"Yes! I was hoping you would ask that," James admitted. "I need you to be the distraction."

"That's easy—I can just go up to her and ask her a Transfiguration question," said Harry. James blinked.

"I never thought of that," he said. "I thought you would have to do something like… I don't know… stage a large crying fit in the middle of the Hall, wailing about how you can't find your socks."

"I remember when you tricked Remus into doing that in our fourth year," piped up Lily. "Poor Remus—he didn't come out of his dormitory for a week after that…"

"Yes, but it was worth it after we turned the Headmaster's socks plain white. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized what we had done!" said James triumphantly.

"Poor Dumbledore," murmured Lily.

"Why don't you tell me more about your school days?" asked Harry. James perked up a little and began to ramble on about a prank gone wrong that resulted in Sirius being stuck the ceiling of the Great Hall while Peter was tangled in the large Hogwart's banner behind the Staff Table. Apparently, they were stuck there for several days until the prank was finally reversed. After a couple of meals, though, people lost interest and stopped pointing and laughing at them.

Harry drank in more and more stories of his father's youth as he went on about more pranks. His mother sat in the corner, every once in a while chipping in, or correcting something that James said. His mother actually told some stories about various pranks she did on Slytherins who dared to call her Mudblood.

"…and then Peter actually told her, 'Why yes, my dearest Minerva, I am hitting on you'!" said James as Harry roared with laughter. Harry wiped the tears forming in his eyes as he stared as his father who was re-enacted McGonagall's expression after Peter had told her that.

"I can't believe he fell for that," said Harry, smiling.

"Neither could we," said Lily, also cracking a smile. It seemed that all of their bad moods had vanished James' stories had gone on, and now they were almost cheerful.

"Oh, and remember the time I first met your parents, James?" asked Lily as she smiled. "I remember your mother so well—she had the most neatest hair I had ever seen, while your father had the Potter mop on his head. Now that I think about it, your parents really were opposites—your father was a slob, while your mother was neat. Your father could never match his clothes for his life, and your mother never left the house without matching socks. Your father always let your get away with everything while your mother sent you almost daily howlers…"

"Yeah," said James, his eyes going glassy as he thought back. There was a pause as Harry thought about what to say next.

"What happened to them?" he asked delicately.

"Voldemort. They were both from prominent light Pureblood families, and they were both Aurors. They were a thorn in his side, so he… he took them out…" said James, his eyes fluttering closed. "That was when I was seventeen. He had hoped to take me out with them, and it was during summer when I was with them that he attacked, but I wasn't home that day—both Sirius and me were visiting Remus' house. Peter hadn't been invited that day, now that I think about it, so there was no way that Peter could have warned Voldemort about me not being home."

His father had been seventeen when his parents had died? Technically, that was only three years ago for his father, while for everyone else it was nearly eighteen. Lily's eyes grew slightly teary.

"I remember the funeral," she said softly as she put a comforting hand on James' arm. James closed his eyes for a moment, before visibly shaking off the depressing mood settling around him.

"Anyways," he said slowly, blinking quickly, but he didn't say anything after that.

"And… your parents, mum?" Harry asked.

"I was fifteen. It wasn't an actual attack just for my family—Voldemort had just attacked the general neighborhood, and killed my parents with it. Petunia had been out with Vernon that day, thank goodness, but I believe that Petunia had blamed me for their deaths even though she knew it wasn't my fault, and would never be my fault."

"Oh," said Harry faintly. Well, at least that gave another reason why Petunia hated magic so much. Not just because she was jealous of her sister, but also because she resented her sister for "killing" her parents.

There was silence in the broom closet for a couple of moments. Suddenly the door was ripped open as Sirius stared down at them, positively beaming. "How was your stay?" he asked grandly as Lily stood up and practically bowled Sirius over in her attempt to leave the closet as soon as she could. James followed, and Harry came out last. They all turned as one and glared at Sirius who flippantly shut the door and smiled at them.

"Sirius. You. Are. Dead," growled James as he lunged at Sirius. Sirius emitted a girly scream and began to run away from James. James attempted to tackle the irritating man, but missed, instead breaking his nose on the stone corridor floor.

Not that that stopped him, of course. Regardless of the blood flowing freely from his nose, James still chased after Sirius, swearing at him at the top of his lungs. Harry and Lily stood there, listening as the sounds of James' swearing and Sirius' screaming slowly faded off into the distance.

"Well. Dad will take care of that," said Harry easily. "Want to get grading those essays now?"

"Yes," said Lily, obviously relieved.

* * *

"GET OUT!" 

Well. That didn't work out as planned. Not that he had really planned it, but he hadn't thought this would happen…

Earlier that evening, Harry headed to Professor Snape's office in order to resume the Occlumency lessons. He was late, he knew, and he enjoyed a leisurely stroll on the way down to the dungeons. He was already late, so why bother hurrying up if the result was the same—getting yelled at?

When he arrived at Snape's office, he rapped on the door. When the soft, "Enter," was heard, Harry wasted no time in opening the door and slipping into the office, wrinkling his nose at the various ingredients around the walls as he was apt to often do.

"You're late," said Snape dangerously.

"Yeah. Sirius locked me in a broom closet for most of the day, and I had to help out my mum afterward with her grading because she was falling behind—or so she says, anyways," said Harry, almost flippantly, as he plopped in the chair across from Snape's desk. Snape glared at him.

"Have you been practicing?" asked Snape. Harry blink—practicing? What was he supposed to practice… oh yeah.

"I forgot," Harry admitted.

"Forgetting will not help you, Mr. Potter," Snape stated, his eyes glittering darkly.

"I know, but I forgot to clear my mind… I have a lot going on, you know," Harry pointed out.

"Like being stuck in broom closets?" Snape said snidely.

"No—Sirius tricked me and my parents!" Harry defended.

"Of course," said Snape in a condescending manner. Harry closed his eyes briefly to regain his temper—he didn't want to start yelling at Snape for being a git, after all.

"Are we going to practice or not?" Harry snapped.

"Yes. On the count of three, one, two, three—"

"PROFESSOR SNAPE!" Draco Malfoy chose this moment to burst into the office. "Professor Snape, we need you right now—what are you doing?" Draco looked at their wands, pointing at each other, and then looked at Snape for answers.

"Remedial potions, Mr. Malfoy. Potter, stay here and don't touch anything while I deal with Mr. Malfoy's situation," said Snape as he swept out of the office, ushering Draco out in front of him. Harry nodded, almost vacantly, as he sat back down into the chair.

A small bit of silvery light caught Harry's attention after a couple of seconds. Harry stared at it, and realized after a few moments that Snape had a Pensieve. Well, he didn't know that. He must be taking out some of his more important memories in case an accident happened…

His most important memories? Would there be Order information in there, information about the war? Something that Harry needed to know, something that was being kept from him? Harry hadn't thought about it much, but he knew barely anything about how the war was going, and whenever he asked he only get vague, one-word responses. This was his chance to really see what was going on, what he was missing…

Feeling immensely reckless, Harry brazenly went over to the Pensieve, tapped it with his wand, and plunged his head into the shining liquid.

At once, he was falling through blackness, and he could feel himself spinning as he went into Snape's memories…

He was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, but the four House tables were gone. Instead there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. The only sound was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment. It was clearly exam time.

Harry wasted no time in looking for Snape. It was his memory, after all. Harry was disappointed, in a way, because he had hoped to see Order memories. Well, maybe if he sat through this memory, he would get to the Order ones.

Harry spotted Snape fairly quickly. Snape-the-teenager had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark. His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping onto the table, his hooked nose barely half an inch from the surface of the parchment as he scribbled. Harry moved behind Snape and looked at the parchment—

Defense Against the Dark Arts 

**Ordinary Wizarding Level**

Well then. Snape must be in his fifth year, around Harry's age. Maybe fifteen, sixteen at most. Harry glanced around and his heart nearly stopped as he saw a mop of large, messy black hair.

Harry basically flew across the room in order to get to his father's younger self. He stared at the young boy while he rumpled up his hair, just like he had done just this morning, only more arrogantly and much more childishly.

Harry also saw Sirius, who was giving James the thumbs-up sign. Sirius was lounging in his chair, at ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking, not having the air of Azkaban surrounding him, and his hair fell into his eyes in a sort of casual elegance that Harry had given up hope that his hair could achieve. Harry also noticed Remus Lupin, looking a bit pale and sickly, several seats down.

Well then, that meant Wormtail must be around here. Harry had no intention of looking for the rat—he would rather spend time looking for his mother. And he found her quickly.

He floated up to the front of the room where Lily was, leisurely writing something down on her exam paper. She had more on the paper than most of her neighbors, and she looked almost bored with the exam. Harry beamed in pride at his mother's brilliance as she yawned delicately in boredom.

"Quills down!" called out a voice—Professor Flitwick, Harry realized—"I will be collecting your parchments now—_Accio!_"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment flew at the tiny Professor, and the impact of the scrolls into his outstretched arms made him fall over with a large pile of scrolls on him. Several students laughed while a couple of students in the front helped him up and organized the parchments.

"Thank you, thank you, you are now free to go!" he announced.

Some people cheered as everyone got up. Harry could see James scribbling something out on his parchment in the back as his friends began to surround him. Harry smiled, and then saw Snape getting up and moving to the door. Harry followed Snape, and Harry was pleased to see that his father and his father's friends were all relatively close to Snape.

Warning bells went off in Harry's head. There was a reason why Snape had this memory in his Pensieve, and the fact that James was near Snape made him almost nervous. Harry halfway hoped that his father would go away, but the other half hoped the James would stay near Snape so that Harry would be able to listen in on their conversation. Already Harry could hear them joking about the exams and Remus' problem.

Harry followed Snape out into the grounds, and was dismayed when his father sat near a tree, right where Snape was settling himself in some bushes. Harry drifted over to his father's group and began to listen in as James began to play with a snitch.

Remus was engrossed in a book, while Sirius was staring out arrogantly, yet handsomely, at the students milling around them. James was performing tricks with the snitch that he had apparently nicked while Wormtail was applauding.

"Put that away, will you? Before Wormtail wets himself with excitement," said Sirius dryly as James made another good catch and Wormtail let out a cheer. Wormtail blushed, and James grinned and put his snitch away.

"If it bothers you," he said.

"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was a full moon."

"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me… Here." He held out his book.

Sirius snorted. "I don't need that rubbish, I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot. Look who it is…"

Nonononono… Harry moaned mentally. Please don't be about to do what I think you're going to do…

"Excellent. Snivellus."

Harry hadn't heard much about the way James had treated Snape in his school days, but he knew it was pretty bad. However, Harry had always hoped that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Well, he supposed he was about to find out.

"All right, Snivellus?"

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: Dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, _"Expelliarmus!"_

Harry watched, growing more and more horrified at the way his father treated Snape. It was disgusting—they were being horrible bullies… Harry could barely watch as they taunted Snape.

And then his mother came along. Harry's respect for her grew exponentially as she valiantly defended Snape from James, and even got called a Mudblood for her efforts.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to block out what was happening….

"Having fun?"

Harry felt himself rising into the air. The summer's day evaporated around him, he was floating upward through icy blackness, Snape's hand still tight upon his upper arm. Then, with a swooping feeling as though he had turned head over heels in midair, his feet hit the stone floor of Snape's dungeon, and he was standing again beside the Pensieve.

"So," said Snape, gripping Harry's arm so tightly that Harry's hand was starting to feel numb, "_So_… been enjoying yourself, Potter?"

"No," said Harry desperately, and he began to wish he had brought Ice with him.

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?" said Snape, shaking Harry. Snape threw Harry to the floor before he could even formulate a proper response. "You will not repeat what you saw to anybody!" Snape bellowed.

"Of course I won't," Harry barely managed out.

"GET OUT!"

It definitely hadn't gone as planned.

* * *

A/N: I totally meant to update this on Friday night as I usually do, but at the time I didn't feel like writing _at all_… at least I got the chapter out by Saturday night. 

People were asking for some bonding time between Harry and his parents, so I decided that it would be fun if they were forced to bond by being stuck in a broom closet. It isn't a very deep bond, like most were asking, but at the current time it's the best I can give you. I've also been meaning to get out the Snape's Worst Memory part. Some parts are copied word-for-word from the book, but I changed a lot of it too.

Please review!


	48. Chapter 48

**Return of the Parents**

**By: AutumnBreeze12**

**Chapter 48

* * *

**

The night definitely hadn't gone as planned for Lily and James, either. It seemed unexpected things were happening to everyone, because Lily found a boggart under their bed.

It came out from under it, and Lily nearly screamed at what she saw—it was Voldemort, and he gave an evil smile before morphing into a dead James.

This time she did scream. And she kept screaming—backing away from the boggart and covering her eyes. A small part in her mind—the rational part that always keeps calm during emergencies such as these—was urging her to stop screaming and think of something funny…

Lily had nothing funny on her mind at that particular moment. Though her eyes were covered, she kept seeing James dead… and the Halloween night, so long ago to some people yet only months ago to her kept playing across her mind, the day that she had heard Voldemort kill her husband.

Collecting herself enough to open her eyes at least, Lily gave another louder shriek and closed her eyes again—this time Harry was on the floor. She couldn't stop screaming—her son… He was her son… dead….

"LILY?!" James burst into the room. Taking one look at the boggart, he correctly guessed what was going on and pushed Lily behind him. The boggart changed—this time it began almost flashing people who were dead…

Sirius, his eyes glassy as he stared up blankly at the ceiling… Remus, his face twisted in a pained expression, his eyes squinted closed… Lily, her stomach bloody and her eyes screaming of agony…

"Make it stop!" shrieked Lily. "MAKE IT STOP!"

However, James was completely frozen. He was staring at the image of Lily, seemingly speechless and unable to make sound, much less a movement to stop the boggart.

"JAMES! DO SOMETHING!"

"_Ridiculous!"_ came the shout from the open door—Remus and Sirius had finally responded to the shouting and came in. A moon appeared in place of the other boggart, and Remus waved his wand, easily vanishing it.

Lily gave a small sigh of relief and slid down the wall while James stooped down to pick up his wand, which he had dropped sometime in shock. There was a slightly awkward silence in which no one really knew what to say. After a few moments, James cleared his throat slightly and said, "Well… I didn't quite expect that to happen…"

"What did happen?" demanded Sirius. "First we hear Lily screaming her head off, and James goes in after her… and the screaming still continues!"

"It was a boggart," said Lily uncomfortably. She was beginning to feel slightly foolish now that it was all over… she should have reacted appropriately instead of screaming like a first year! Glanced at James, Lily noticed that he didn't feel any better about his performance—in fact, his face was starting to go red, blotches of pink staining his cheeks.

"So we gathered," said Sirius dryly. "But why didn't you banish it? You knew it was a boggart—you should've taken it out!"

"Sirius," said Remus quietly, "that's quite enough."

And like that, the discussion was ended.

The day was not quite over, though, when all the monitors suddenly malfunctioned.

"What is going on?" murmured Remus as, when going back into the main room of Marauder's Quarters, they found that the screens were all fuzzy and some were blacking out.

"Hold on… let me deal with this…" said Lily as she began to open up some compartments near the monitors that held the wires. There was silence, only broken by the sounds of the wires rustling, while Lily worked. It seemed like forever that Lily was tinkering around with the monitors, though the reality was that it was only for a couple of minutes, when finally Lily sat back and frowned.

"It seems like the spells enabling the monitors to run in Hogwarts are beginning to wear off," she said. "Meaning that Hogwart's magic is beginning to effect the muggle system. That means that we have to re-cast the spells… which means that we have to get out our old notes and find out what parts we need to cast the spells on. Does anyone remember where the notes are?" asked Lily. Seeing blank looks, she sighed. "Looks like we're going to have to do a bit of cleaning up around here."

"Cleaning?" asked Sirius blankly.

"Yes, cleaning. Remember how we were talking about doing some cleaning around here? Some organizing? Well, here's our chance. While we're looking for those old notes and the manual on this thing—because we're probably going to have to rewire everything—we can reorganize a couple of things and clean up a couple of places."

"Can't we just accio the book and get this over with?" groaned James.

"Well, considering that the book might be under a pile of objects, and accioing it might tear up the papers…" said Lily, trailing off to let them fill in the blanks.

"So we can't accio it because we might damage the papers, and if we damage the papers then we have to do everything all over again?" James stated more than asked.

"Yes," said Lily. "I suggest we start looking."

It was a very disgruntled group that set out to looking for the papers. They could be in a multitude of places—Lily's office, Remus's office (James hadn't known that Remus even had an office, because Remus almost never used it), it could be in the Marauder's Quarters, or Harry could have accidentally taken it somewhere.

So they couldn't leave any stone unturned as they began to search the Marauder's Quarters. Lily started with her and James's room, Remus began in his room, and Sirius and James both began to brave Sirius's room, which was covered in layers of filth, dirty laundry, and food items that were beginning to mold (the House Elves had long abandoned the hope of ever cleaning the room, because every time they did it would just be dirty again an hour later).

"What is _this_?" James wrinkled his nose as he picked up what looked like a green lump with mold on it.

"Oh, that? I think that used to be a shirt," said Sirius, squinting at it. "Yeah—see that little dot there? That's a piece of a button that used to be on it."

"Ew," James threw the moldy shirt away from him as he toed through a pile of mush. "And do I want to know what this is?"

"No, probably not," confirmed Sirius. "I think that used to be a wedding cake."

"A _wedding cake_? When did you go to a _wedding_?"

"I haven't recently. I think that's a couple of years old."

"What?! Then how in the world did it get here?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. The last wedding I went to was yours, so I suppose that was part of the wedding cake from it."

"_What?!"_

"Do you want some?"

"NO! Sirius, that's disgusting! Why didn't the House Elves clean it up?"

"I post notes on stuff I don't want them to trash. See that little yellow piece on the cake? That used to be the note. Um—I think the cake ate most of the note, though."

"Okay. That's it. I'm going to help Lily," said James, backing away from the cake and turning to head out the door. However, he tripped over something that began to move and slowly went under the bed.

"Sirius. What has that?"

"I think that was a rebellious pair of pants,"

"That settles it. I'm out of here," said James, standing up from where he had fallen from tripping over the pants and heading out the door again.

"Wait! I need you to help me sort through my old toast collection!"

"NO!"

"Then take me with you!" cried Sirius as he stumbled out of his room after James.

"It's your room! You sleep in it! Deal with it yourself!" snapped James as Sirius dove at him and grabbed his leg. James walked on, dragging Sirius behind him.

"I don't sleep in it! I sleep on the couch! Didn't you ever wonder why you always find me asleep on the couch in the mornings?"

"I never find you on the couch in the mornings!"

"That's because Lily kicks me off of it before anyone else gets up," pouted Sirius. "She wakes up so early…"

"She wakes me up pretty late…" said James, frowning as he stopped and looked down on Sirius, who was still clutching at his leg.

"That's because she tries to wake you up for a couple of hours. All she needs to do for me is push me off the couch and dump some water on me. She's tried that with you—it's stopped working. Though it is funny when you wake up ten minutes later, still wet, and Lily informs you that you wet the bed that night…"

"I knew I didn't do that!" cried James triumphantly.

"What are you two doing? Shouldn't you be searching Sirius's room?" demanded Lily as she stormed out of her room.

"My room is scary," said Sirius, opening his eyes wide and putting an innocent look on his face.

"Stop acting like a baby and search his room. Clean it up while you're in there—last time I was there some wedding cake tried to eat me," said Lily.

"Aha! See—that wedding cake _had _to have eaten that note to the House Elves!"

"I was joking," frowned Lily. "I've never seen any wedding cake in there, though there was this pair of pants that I swore kept moving…"

"Oh," said Sirius awkwardly. "Well, yeah… my pants tend to give off that impression. Can we help you in your room?"

"No—you should be doing your own room. Sirius, you should know it better than anyone! Go clean it up a little and try to find the notes!"

"If the notes are in there, the wedding cake ate it," said Sirius quietly. "The wedding cake has an appetite for notes."

"Then ask the cake where they are," said Lily, rolling her eyes and shooing them off to Sirius's room.

"Lily! Please—don't let it eat us!" moaned James. Sirius was still on the floor, holding James's leg as Lily pushed them both back into Sirius's room.

"Stop complaining! It's just a room—what is _that_?" she said in disgust, pointing at what, at one points, might have been a pair of boxers… but now looked like they had a large bite out of them and were torn up quite a bit.

"It was the wedding cake," said Sirius.

"Ugh. I'll leave you two to deal with it," said Lily, pushing them into the room and closing the door. They heard a lock click, and they stared about in horror as the light from the doorway vanished.

"Sirius? Isn't there a light in here?"

"I think they all got broken, or something."

"How can torches get broken? How can the fireplace get _broken_?"

"I think the candy wrappers got to them."

"I don't even want to know."

"I wouldn't want to know either."

* * *

A/N: This is a mini filler chapter. Normally I would keep writing this chapter until it was 4,000 words, but I stopped at 2,000 simply because I didn't have the will to write this story—writer's block has hit me really hard. What I'm going to do it take the month of December off this story, as to let myself have a nice vacation without worrying about this. Hopefully my writer's block will also clear up.

Just to make this clear, I have said numerous times that I won't abandon this story. This is still true—I might get writer's block a lot for this story, but I have no intention of walking away from it after putting nearly two year's worth of work into it.

Please review.


	49. Chapter 49

Harry shuffled his potatoes around on his plate, confused thoughts bouncing around in his head. His entire family – Sirius and Remus included – were seated around the table. They had chosen to dine in the Potter's rooms that day, with a delicious meal provided by the House Elves. But the meal was far from Harry's mind.

Instead, all he could think about was Snape's memory. The way that his father had shamelessly bullied the boy in his fifth year. And with the way they had been acting, that couldn't have been the only time that Snape had been bullied.

It made Harry sick, to think that his father and his father's friends, whom he had always looked up to even when they were still 'dead', had acted so like his bullying cousin. Harry could recount all the times that Dudley had run after him, his friends in tow, intent on beating Harry black and blue. Or all the times that Dudley had prevented Harry from having friends, or forming essential human connections. Harry's stomach curled sickeningly at the thought that James was like that, and he pushed his food away resolutely.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Lily's concerned eyes seemed to cut through him, as if she knew something was torturing Harry's mind.

"I'm fine," Harry muttered. "Just not hungry."

"Nonsense!" said Sirius jovially. "You're thin enough as it is – you need to eat up!"

Harry's stomach flipped again, thinking of the people who had made him thin. Mentally comparing them to his parents. His parents were good people, right?

"You look a little pale," said Lily. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Like I said, I'm fine," said Harry, a note of aggravation entering his voice.

"You know, you say you're fine… but it seems like a lot of times you really aren't," said Remus, his voice deceptively light. "We can tell something's wrong, Harry. You just need to tell us."

Lily nodded encouragingly. Any other conversation had ceased at this point, and all of the adults were looking at Harry expectantly. Harry's first inclination was to simply deny it, to show them that he could take anything that was coming his way. But then he forcibly reminded himself that they were his parents, that he could tell them anything.

"I saw something today," he started, "that was a little… disturbing."

"Was it Sirius's live pants?" asked James. "Because if it was, I completely understand. It scares us all."

"No, no. Nothing like that," said Harry quickly. "I had an Occlumency lesson with Professor Snape today, and… well…" Here Harry hesitated. Did he really want to tell his parents that he had snooped in Snape's personal life?

"_Professor_ Snape?" asked James.

Harry colored a little, but pushed on. "He had to leave to take care of something and left his pensieve in his office. I thought it might contain some information, something that could help out the Order, so I went in."

"What?" Lily shrieked. "You invaded his privacy?"

Harry tried to downplay it. "He wasn't that mad, he just kicked me out of his office. Anyways, what I saw –"

"He '_just_' kicked you out of his office? Is he going to continue the lessons?" Lily leaned forward, staring deep into Harry's eyes. Harry found it hard to keep eye contact with her, shame burning in his stomach and making it turn and turn and turn.

"I don't think so, no. But I wanted to talk about what I saw…"

"So let me get this straight," Lily said, "you invaded Snape's private thoughts, and then proceeded to be banned from lessons from him."

"Well, yes."

"You're grounded," Lily said.

"What?" Harry yelped.

"Grounded," Lily nodded. "That was completely irresponsible of you. You're a teenager now, you should be able to distinguish between right and wrong."

Harry gaped at her. The burn of shame was beginning to turn into the hot flame of anger. "But what I saw –"

"And did you find any big secrets that would help the Order?" interrupted Lily.

"Well, no. But –"

"Of course you didn't! Professor Snape is a responsible adult who works extremely hard. He puts his life in danger every time he goes to a Death Eater meeting, and when he comes back, he gets treated like this? No respect and hatred from all sides? How is that fair? He tells everything to the Order. Of course you didn't find anything in there!"

The anger got hotter. "Mum, I need you to listen to me."

"No, you listen to me! You will march down to Professor Snape's office after dinner and apologize. You will ask him – beg, if need be – for him to resume the Occlumency lessons."

And just like that, the anger consumed him. Harry stood up, his chair scraping the floor loudly, as he stared down at his mother. "If you had listened to me, you would know that I what actually did see was pretty disturbing." Here Harry turned to his father and Sirius, both of whom were sitting there letting the argument play out. "It was a certain memory of two boys bullying Snape in their fifth year, after OWLs."

James and Sirius both paled a little, but Harry carried on. "And I don't appreciate being talked to like I'm a child. You're right, I'm a teenager – a teenager who survived years without any parents. You saunter back into my life and just take over – as if I'll just give in and accept everything that you say. How can you possibly expect me to listen to you when you weren't there for me?"

Lily looked stricken. "Harry, we couldn't be there for you. We _died_ for you."

But Harry just shook his head in disgust. "I'm sorry, but you can't expect me just to take this. I have enough on my plate as it is."

But then Remus turned to him, a calculating look in his eye, and said, "You do, don't you, Harry? Have you told your parents yet what you're doing down in the Chamber?"

And Harry's entire body went cold.

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the short chapter, but I thought that I should at least try to get something up. I know it's been a couple of years now since I last updated, and I'm really sorry for the long hiatus!

I've lost almost all of my passion for this story, especially after rereading it. In my opinion, the first twenty or so chapters are crap, if not all of the story. I wrote it when I was much younger and my writing was undeveloped. I've been toying with the idea of just rewriting it all, but I haven't decided yet.

I'll continue to try and update, but I make no guarantees. Thanks!


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